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Source:
Radiocorriere, January 19, 1936
Description:
A song that achieved immense popularity soon after its first release in June 1935, "Faccetta nera" was part of the vast propaganda repertoire that accompanied the political preparation for the Second Italo-Ethiopian Conflict, its conduct, then the victory of Fascist troops and the founding of the Italian Empire in East Africa. The song encapsulates some of the most striking features of this repertoire: racism; African women placed under the sexual domination of Italian colonists; liberation of Ethiopia by the Italian invasion; the civilizing mission of the Fascist regime. Too suggestive, her lyrics were modified in 1936, as the regime considered that they encouraged amorous and sexual relations between Italian colonists and Ethiopian women, which were to be limited notably for racial reasons (see Marie-Anne Matard-Bonucci, Totalitarisme fasciste, Paris, CNRS Éditions, 2018).