Simone, why are you crying? You should be happy…

I feel a bit alone. You know, after 15 days of lunches and dinners with 18 people, there’s nobody here now. Arlete, Felix, Ana Bela, Adelino, Safina, Adelino (junior) and Agostinho have all left.

But Felix left you that gift, he whispered “Muy obrigado por todo” to you, only you heard, you wanted to hear it, didn’t you? We deserved it!

I think so, I gave my all. They asked me to talk about my life and I did, I didn’t tell a single lie, it wasn’t worth it, I wanted to see the reaction in their eyes.
Whenever there was a spare moment I helped Safina read the performance script. We read it at least 20 times, but with all the rehearsals, let’s say 100 times!

And the last rehearsal?

Spectacular! The first part, rehearsed over and over again, was as smooth as silk, making the small audience laugh. The second part, which we rehearsed only once, but read over a couple of times, had a few hitches but reached its end. The magic of Alcatraz repeated itself. 11 Italians and 7 Mozambicans who managed to create a theatre performance, living a type of film made of chatter, discussions (at times relaxing, at other times becoming lively), dramatic turns of event, stories, sharing, ideas, everything, for 15 days. There was everything! We comforted each other, helped each other, we even got pissed off with each other, without considering for one second the different colours of our skins, our different religions, our different cultures. Some people call it “integration”!

You mentioned Arlete first of all, you like her, don’t you?

I think you’ll agree with me that today, in the whole of St. Peter’s square in Rome, she was the most fascinating person. The way she moved, looking all around her.

Ah! You won’t say this to me, but you melted when she took your arm and asked you who lived in the buildings facing St. Peter’s Square.

In the end, I didn’t even answer! I gave her some information taken from The Da Vinci Code or Angels and Demons, which one is set in Rome?

You even spoke well of Pope Francis!

I improvised, after this intense, extremely intense, theatre training session and it came out well! The story of showers for the homeless and barbers requested by Pope Frances is true! And she liked it, too!
Going back to Rome was wonderful!

Their comments, their questions, helped me rediscover the city.

Rome, you have never been so beautiful!
(The curtain falls)