I have always been shy when meeting new people. That would almost go for double when meeting the street performers in Florence, Italy. I recently wrote about gReY, il mimo. I watch him perform any chance that I can, but I did not meet him in the street. Instead, a dear friend of mine brought him to a private party in Florence almost two years ago.
Last month I met Mimito il sorrydista. Some call him ”L’Uomo del Vento” (“The Man of the Wind”). Born in Rome, he has performed in many countries, but now you may find him on the streets and in the piazzas of Florence. He knows a lot of the madonnari and will occasionally take his break by hanging out near us street painters. I am shy, not generally rude, so it was inevitable that we would meet.
This street performer explained to me that his name ‘sorrydista’ is a word that he made up. In Italian, ‘sorridere’ means “to smile” and he wanted to make a sarcastic play on words with the English “sorry.” Forget your worries. Street performers such as Mimito want to help you laugh even if only for a moment. Their humor is natural, kind, and fun for all ages.
So, I photographed Mimito il sorrydista helping this class of young boys become posers. I hope you enjoy the series. Afterwards, Mimito put a purple spiked hair wig on their teacher and got him into the act. The kids loved seeing their teacher in a TOTALLY new way. It was all good fun.
Even a “vigilanza” will stop to watch Mimito. And, of course, even this southern Italian woman could not escape his Italian charm.
When Mimito is not being blown about by the wind, he is an accomplished musician and finds others to play with. Seen here in Piazza della Repubblica in Florence is Mimito with a guitar player. Beside him is his companion Kleo (clay-oh). Mimito told me that Kleo was free when they met and later, this puppy chose to go home with Mimito. It turns out that the now four-year-old dog has showman-like skills. While I have only rubbed her belly during a break from street painting, several of my friends have seen Kleo perform. She can keep a palloncino (balloon) up in the air while running across the entire piazza! I am glad they found each other.
Especially after witnessing this white poodle who could not stop barking at ”L’Uomo del Vento”
The following image shows how Mimito experiences ‘Stendhal Syndrome’ in front of the recent street painting my Wednesday and Thursday group of madonnari created on Via Calimala. This was a copy of Caravaggio’s “The Supper at Emmaus.”
And I leave you with a self-portrait I took with Mimito on the day that we met. My face is relatively clean considering my normal state during chalking on Via Calimala. Enjoy!
Visit Mimito il sorrydista at his Web site: www.sorrydista.com
More images of this charming artist can be found on Flickr.com (search ‘sorrydista’)
Be like me and befriend Mimito il sorrydista on Facebook, search for
Maurizio Mimito Stefanizzi
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1 comment:
Glad to read your story. We ran into Mimito recently in the streets of Florence. (glad he had his website on his briefcase) We only snapped one picture before wandering off, but he was a welcome distraction from the gypsies.
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