The Rome of Federico Palmaroli (Osho)
Federico Palmaroli. For all Osho. Indeed, “the one who brought Osho to Rome”, as we read in the bio of his Instagram profile, paraphrasing the pride of being the first team of the capital as a good Lazio player. An “objective fact”, like the one that “for the Romanists is the twelfth year without trophies”. Football faith aside, Palmaroli puts everyone in agreement with his satire and the pungent irony that distinguishes his cartoons. The page ‘The most beautiful phrases of Osho’ goes wild on social networks and crosses the borders of the capital, demonstrating that “Romanesco is a dialect appreciated everywhere” and that in Milan it had worked but “it would have stayed there”. Born in Monteverde, a “neutral neighborhood”, raised in northern Rome, of which he knows “charms, critical issues and fauna” and does not like “plastic (not the one that is piled up on bins)”, he spent the most beautiful evenings at Prenestino with old friends from the university. Raggi was an “easy target”, Gualtieri “promises very well”.
“That was a sentence that I put in because I am from Lazio and we define ourselves as ‘those who brought football to Rome’, which is the truth. I put the character of Osho in the Roman reality, which is a bit of reality. from all over Italy, but the dialect is Roman. In a short time the phenomenon exploded, collaborations with newspapers arrived, hosted on TV. These are the honors. The burdens, on the other hand, are those of having to receive attacks every time if you maybe wink on one side and critics on the other “.
Why precisely Osho?
“It was coincidental. There was a period in which on social media these sentences with his signature were very often seen. of a page that was named after mine, which however reported the true quotes of Osho. They made it to him. I had to fight a lot to keep it standing. “
Over a million fans on Facebook, nearly half a million followers on Twitter. Your cartoons are everywhere, crossing the borders of the capital. Does the Roman work then?
“Roman has always been a dialect appreciated everywhere and understood everywhere. In recent times I am even more aware of how much it works. I had a collaboration with Corriere della Sera, which in any case is a newspaper in Milan, recently I was invited to Bergamo , in the weeks I will go to Santa Maria di Leuca, Vibo Valentia, Salerno. They are opposite poles. I never expected it to be so expected and understood in Bergamo, for example. Ditto for Calabria “.
Zerocalcare was critical of too much Romanism in his TV series. The usual rosettes?
“I think so. I like him very much, beyond too much politicization. Generally I don’t like comics, but the Zarocalcare series is very beautiful. I think his slang, even his way of eating words, works. A lot. That makes me laugh. And then he brings out things that are part of the Roman world, brilliant. Of course, I’m easier to understand them as a Roman. But even annoyed. One at most just doesn’t see it. “
The Roman Osho is from Monteverde, right?
“I was born in Monteverde but in reality I lived there for a few years. I went to elementary school there and not all of them”.
What then Monteverde is neither north Rome nor south Rome. Monteverdini are monteverdini.
“Yes, it is a neutral neighborhood from that point of view. But I don’t feel like a Monteverdino. Apart from a small parenthesis in Talenti, I have always lived in northern Rome, between Balduina and Trieste-Salario. And I went to high school. . classic in Prati. The centrality of my friendships is all in northern Rome “.
Vietnam practically …
“Pietro Castellitto certainly said that thing within a broader discourse, but by now everyone has said only that and in that way. It certainly makes me laugh at such an exit and becomes a source of satire, as I did, above all because I know northern Rome, with all the quirks and criticisms. In any case Castellitto does not criticize him for what he said, on the contrary I thank him because he made me do something besides Covid, for once “.
How are you with south Rome?
“I went to all the neighborhoods. I have very dear friends from Prenestino, I spent some very funny evenings in that neighborhood. I have always felt good in all the contests. What matters are the people and how you are there, not the geographical location. I also had acquaintances and girlfriends in southern Rome, Torrino and its surroundings. Then if I have to tell you the truth, it’s not that the fauna of northern Rome really drives me crazy “.
Meaning what?
“As in every neighborhood, more than entire categories, there are people. But let’s say that in northern Rome I don’t really like plastic (not the one that is piled up on bins).”
How many ideas does Rome give you?
“Several. There isn’t a particular place, but wherever I happen to stop. It can happen at the post office, a symposium of clichés and popular discontent, or at the restaurant, where people chat a lot. I’m someone who observes. I listen a lot. I draw inspiration from what is happening around me, but also from the behavior and linguistic expressions typical of people. That is the key to success “.
The Raggi has given you a lot of satisfaction in the 5 years in which she was mayor …
“Certainly. Regardless of what he did or did not do, he was a constant target of the media and this helped to find hints of satire. Now there is Gualtieri, but we are in the first months. If he does better or worse we will see over time. It must be said, however, that the political conflict does not emerge as it did before. It is all too focused on Covid “.
Does Gualtieri promise well?
“Promises. Surely the Democratic Party is a party that has a lot of currents within it, and then he too will be critical because Rome is a great city to govern. me will always be the same. The problem is that these issues will not emerge as they did before, because the Rays target was easier. From the way I speak I can look like a 5 star. Absolutely not. But it must be recognized that the garbage can still be seen around, the Christmas tree is nothing special and if it had done the Rays I could have given it all the colors “.
Why was he such an easy target?
“Certainly partly because she is a woman. I am convinced of this. Partly because she did not have a political past. She made mistakes and, for heaven’s sake, they weren’t just spurious attacks. In my opinion she is always wrong during election campaigns. to make everyone believe that the magic wand is coming and the problems are solved. Like when she made fun of Marino about the flooding, in the end the same thing happened to her. We need to be more cautious “.
In Rome it is always better not to spit in the air.
“Exactly. I always say ‘don’t throw stones at the neighbor’s house if yours is glass'”.
Is it even better to joke about it?
“Well yes, this is our characteristic. We Romans see a lot of problems around us but then we have that slightly light-hearted attitude that makes us find the inspiration to make a joke and laugh about it. ‘other part. Also because the cause of so many problems in Rome is precisely our way of being, not just politics. the problems are attributable to ourselves “.
Are the Romans more cazzari or rosiconi?
“More cazzari. I know few of Romans rosiconi”.
And who wins the most, the Romanists or the Lazio ones?
“The Lazio players have little to win. They come from years in which there have been successes, but for the Roma fans it is the twelfth year without trophies. In such a situation, the one who wins the most is the one who has not won for years. This is an objective fact. “.
Do the Lazio people envy Totti to the Romanists?
“I think so. Totti is one of those players that every team would have wanted. Obviously, after playing for Roma for so many years, even if I gave him as a gift and it hadn’t been in great shape, I never would have. But it was wanted. a flag. The same goes for De Rossi. They are those players who are symbols of a team and every fan would like to have a symbol of their city. We now have Immobile, which is not from Rome, okay, but it is strong and it is a treaty honor in team”.
Do they call you Federico or Osho on the street?
“Now Osho”.
Do you recognize yourself?
“Yes, it happens. The other day I ordered dinner and the rider recognized me. I thought about it when she left because I didn’t tip her and said ‘here, this mo puts me on the black list and me whore soon “.
Where do you live?
“Al Flaminio, but recently. Until three years ago I lived in the Trieste-Salario, the neighborhood where my grandparents also take. I went to it for a lifetime and it remains my neighborhood of reference. I like Flaminio anyway. you are not really in full north Rome, that of Fleming, you are closer to the center. Then it is the district of Lazio. And objectively it is beautiful. wide, it’s wonderful “.
Would satire have come as good to you in Milan?
“I think not. There are some important Milanese realities, but it’s not the same thing. I’ll give you an example. The ugly Milanese is certainly a successful phenomenon in Milan, but I don’t think it can be easily exported to other regions. but this, also cinematically speaking, has a more national dimension. It is even more understandable. In Milan I could create something that worked on the territory but maybe it stayed there “.
Would you ever leave Rome?
“I say this many times but then I realize that I would find myself like a fish out of water in another city. Do you know how many times I say ‘enough, I’ll go away’? But after two days I feel somewhere else bewildered “.
The place of the heart?
“Trieste-Salario, the streets and squares of that neighborhood. Mine. I spent the best years there and it has always been the common thread of my life. In my day there were no Playstations and Wii and I remember that I often went to a games room in Corso Trieste, which no longer exists. The house where I lived is no longer there, but it is mine to come back to live there sooner or later. That is my comfort zone “.
The real Osho opens Roma Today and reads this interview. What dice?
“Mo ‘I share it immediately. With two bs”.