I will never forget today’s day. Our efforts, the work of many years with the Bob Marley Magazine find lifeblood right in moments like these.
I’ve had the opportunity I’ve been waiting for years. This morning I’ve finally met Rita Marley, succeeding to talk to her, even if for just a bit.
For us of the Bob Marley Magazine it’s been a great privilege and for this reason we really want to thanks Rototom Sunsplash for the opportunity it gave us.
Rita’s memories and proofs are a bug contribution for all the people who love Marley like me.
Definitely a very controversial figure, in a negative or positive way, but I’m not here to judge anyone , I’m here to get to know and really touch with hands, how Bob’s message is still alive among us.
And in this moment, Rita gave the impression to be still to be an integral part of it, that message that perhaps she won’t forget and we will never forget, that indirectly or directly she contributed to spread.
She talks about Bob with watery eyes, I’m not sure it’s my impression or not, but I see this in her, I’ve heard trough the years many versions of her personality, but after this meeting everything is vanished to come back again in a clear image, carved in my head with absolutely POSITIVE VIBRATIONS.
We get there very early, Rita was not long in coming, she comes followed by a horde of journalists and photographers.
She is smiling, gets in like a Queen, the queen of the Festival. She say hello to the local authorities waiting for her sat down at the table where she takes place as well.
There’s a weird energy in the air. I am so excited to stay tense for the entire conference.
I’m staring at her like hypnotized. I’m trying to compare the features of her face with the memories I’ve got of her when she was young, hardly found sometimes on the internet, published a hundred times on newspapers and magazines.
I believe she still is a beuatiful woman. Her voice sounds familiar, is a warm voice that make everybody feel good straight away. I need a while to recover from the shock and mine one, is one of the last interviews.
The questions are various, some more and some less interesting, but she offers her availability straight away answering to all the questions professionally, and opens her speech with a nice appreciation to everybody, nobody excluded, for the hospitality given.
The first question asked concerns the Rita Marley and Bob Marley Foundation.
Rita gives a great lesson of life: she explains it fundamental having the will to help AFRICA, a mystic place, where everything had origin, where our past and future are written.
She goes on saying that in Africa many talents keep borning and one of the aims of the Foundation is to find them and get them to be known.
Rita, like Bob, says the real message is in the music, and she is sure it is a powerful mean to highlight the serious problems of African countries and not just this.
In particular, she reminds the Somali people hasn’t got water and she states Bob’s message: ONE LOVE, let’s get together and feel all right. Everyone of us has the due to help who’s in trouble: Bob died 30 years ago, but the need to educate new generations with positive messages is still alive.
Unfortunately still many economical and commercial interests are placed in AFRICA, goes on RITA, that originate wars, those warts that in her opinion would have to be fought to defend the human rights of the oppressed, where they see entire populations escape to improve their living conditions.
But she also joyfully remembers the moments spent in Jamaica, at STUDIO ONE, how many nice but also bad days she spent with Bob, the Wailers and many artists that passed there. Memories of how they used to make things for passion, she also speaks about the prophecy and about how much is Bob universal, the way Bob was a prophet, sharing love is very important without thinking of material things, “give a little one more time”.
I would loved to have asked her many questions, filling in inside me those gaps I’ve got, for a “real” lack of knowledge of a Bob Marley beyond the artistic aspect.
Questions probably a bit too private, that not just me, but many other Marley’s fans as me will never ask her.
But I’m satisfied with very little, and among all of them I think the one dedicated the movie about Bob and inspired to Rita’s book “No woman No cry”, is the most right one for this context.
I feel gratified hearing that she finds my question very interesting, and she explains is not just about a real film, but in fact it can be consedered as a documentary, after having faced many difficulties in finding an actor able to play Marley’s role.
A documentary in which the director, that initially was meant to be Oliver Stone, (she confirms is Kevin Mcdonald), wanted a woman point of view, a woman near to him in order to tell better how was Bob as a “human being” (and this might fill in my gap), as everybody especially knows his artistic side.
Everything passes by in a moment, I finish my interview and Rita smiles at me, smiles at everybody, she still stays there for some pictures and autographes.
I still talk to her while she’s signing my book, and surprised she tells me to have already heard about our magazine, I’m very enthusiastic about it, she asks me to write the website address on a notebook with an image of Bob on it, I tell her about Cedella and she smiles telling me she spents her days on facebook.
She goes away serene with me, my time has passed and now also this one is a story.
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