Punk and Ska band from Italy. Their songs are generally rational in nature,… Read Full Bio ↴Punk and Ska band from Italy. Their songs are generally rational in nature, focusing on socialism, internationalism and atheism issues. its music can to remind The Clash, Angelic Upstarts, Red London, Hard Skin, The Selecter or Madness.

Banda Bassotti was formed in 1988, by a group of politically active musicians who began to sympathize with the Nicaraguan, Salvadorean, Palestinian, and Basque people fights. This group of friends supports the Frente Sandinista de Liberacion Nacional with solidarity initiatives by creating some work brigades. From 1984 to 1987 they took part to a three months brigade with the building cooperative XXV Aprile, to build some students houses and a school. From 1987 to 1989 the group creates a rock-band which begins to stir in the squats and in the demonstrations. The Banda Bassotti together with other comrades establishes the project Gridalo Forte No fascism! No racism! A documentation centre against fascism and racial prejudice.

From 1990 to 1991 they organize an antiracist festival with the same title who took place in Rome on 1991 May 3rd and 4th. European antiracist bands took part into such festival with concerts, videos and meetings. From this documentation centre, after two years the label Gridalo Forte Records is created. From this documentation centre the project Balla e Difendi arises, always in 1991, where the Banda Bassotti, took part to, together with other roman bands, such as: Red House, Filo da Torcere, AK 47. In this record, produced by the Gridalo Forte Records independent label, took part the most active bands of the left roman antagonist scene. "Figli della stessa rabbia" the first Banda Bassotti cd follows the success of such initiative and it is produced by the same label. This cd obtained a great success of both audience and critics and acted as an ingagements band multiplier: from a roman dimension to a national, and then an international one.

Without abandoning their roots, the BB obtained appreciation in Spain and especially in the Basque Country, where they performed in several concerts together with some independist left bands. During the recording of "Bella Ciao" together with the GANG, it raised the idea to play in Salvador for the FMNL. The occasion to realize such idea comes out few months later in march 1994, for the first political elections after 11 years of civil war in Salvador. The Banda Bassotti played with the Negu Gorriak in San Salvador central square at the end of the campaign with an audience of 50.000 people. They performed in 4 concerts in less than a week.

In June 1995 the band moved to Euskadi for 15 days in the IZ studio, on the mountains and with Kaki Arkarazo –sound technician and Negu Gorriak guitarist- they recorded "Avanzo di Cantiere" produced by Gridalo Forte Records label. Fermin Muguruza took part to the traditional song "Carabina 30-30" This cd is sold also in Euskadi and Spain, published by Gora Herriak Records a branch of the International Basque label Esan Ozenki. The record has been presented in several concerts in Italy and all over Spain: Bilbao, Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Santiago De Compostela, Saragoza, Gasteiz, Oiartzun. The Banda Bassotti played with the Negu Gorriak in summer 1995 in Bilbao Gaz Square at the town party with an audience of 10.000 people. After a while the Banda Bassotti took part to a Hitz Egin demonstration for the freedom of expression, a big concert to raising funds for the Negu Gorriak trial against the civil guard General Galindo. The song reported is Ustalkerria. They raised 200.000.000 liras for the defence, about 12.000 people took part to it and 15 bands played, there were all Basque bands and the Banda Bassotti represented the international sympathy.

In the mid 1996 the band decided to stop because of great energies spent and the obvious difficulties to go on both with the band and to work in the yard.

In February 2001 Negu Gorriak -who broke in the same time of of the Banda Bassotti- decided to keep the promise to get back together to play in a concert to celebrate the end of the legal prosecution of Colonel Galindo against their song Ustalkerria when the Negu Gorriak won the trial. The agreement stated that also the Banda Bassotti should have to rejoin nad play with the Basque band. The Banda Bassotti decided to increase the instruments of the band with the brass section: Sandokan to the tombone -singer of the Ramiccia and trombone of the International Fermin Muguruza Dub Manifest and of the Radici nel Cemento- and Stefano Cecchi to the trumpet -trumpet of the bands International Fermin Muguruza Dub Manifest and Radici nel Cemento-. They rearranged their songs and left for Bilbao.

Concerts in February should have been two but they were three, due to the great demand of tickets (30.000). Seizing this opportunity the Banda Bassotti organized two concerts in Rome on 15th and 17th March 2001. The first concert is in support of the people reported for the demonstration against the nazi Haider arrival in Rome, while the second took place in the Social Centre "Villaggio Globale" with an audience of 9.000 people. The great success of these occasional concerts was the input to find new energies and the Banda Bassotti started to reorganize its future as a band. They started again to play and they received great demands from Italy and Spain.

In May 2001 a double live cd has been published by the label Gridalo Forte Records with the title "Un altro giorno d’amore" recorded at the Villaggio Globale and mixed in the Euskadi Garate Studio by Kaki Arkarazo. The video is the live concert of May 17th as well. Fermin Muguruza took part to roman concerts singing "La Linea del Frente" and "Zu Trapartu Arte" the two most famous songs by Fermin Muguruza’s first band: the Kortatu. After a while they shoot the video of "Carabina 30-30" and Maurizio Gregori -Ramiccia’s saxophonist- joined the band.

In summer 2001 the Banda bassotti is on tour again in Italy, Spain and the Basque Country until September when they played at the Independent Day Festival with Manu Chao, Africa Unite, and so on. Without forgetting their attitude, the Banda Bassotti and their label organized a concert in Rome to support the partisan Walter Dall’Olmo and his family. After that they performed in Italy and Spain and in November 2001, during their first seven concerts tour, they had a total audience of about 30.000 people.
In their second tour in December, with four concerts their audience was of around 7.000 people. During this month they released a compilation with the title "Poetry and reality" for the Japanese label Two Children Records.

Singer Angelo "Sigaro" Conti, died at the age of 62 on 11 December 2018.

Mayapan
Banda Bassotti Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

E vestito a festa come un
Pezzente camminava per la città
Non si accorge di lui, civile società
Per i ricchi lui non è niente
Come fosse trasparente
Se esista o no che differenza fa?
Quanto vale un'oncia di piombo? Quanto
Un Indio? Poco di più

Silenzioso il Puma attenderà e
Il Serpente veloce colpirà
Ora anche se vuoi tu non lo vedi più
Nato nella città di "È tutto finito"
Figlio di un uomo senza scarpe
Sua madre la selva lo proteggerà
La montagna Mayapan mayapan l'albero
Mayapan la tua terrà la tua dignità

Non posso stare senza di te
Inseguire un sogno
Alle promesse lui dirà Emiliano Zapata
Chiedeva terra e libertà lo so yo se Y say
Non ritorna indietro la felicità

Uomini di vetro in the Selve Lacandona stay
Non vincerò senza di te

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Banda Bassotti's song "Mayapan" tell a story of a marginalized individual, dressed up for a festive occasion, walking through the city unnoticed and disregarded by the affluent society. The lyrics question the value society places on different individuals, highlighting the indifference and invisibility that the poor and indigenous people face. The singer, referred to as an "Indio," is seen as worth very little, just slightly more than a ounce of lead. The lyrics metaphorically speak of the silent puma waiting and the fast striking snake, suggesting that even if the marginalized individual were to rise up and fight, their efforts might still go unnoticed.

The song also alludes to the city of "È tutto finito" (It's all over), emphasizing the despair and hopelessness that surrounds the singer's life. However, the lyrics mention that his mother, symbolized by the Mayapan tree, provides protection and holds his dignity. The song speaks to the struggle of the indigenous people, their demands for land and freedom, and the realization that happiness cannot be achieved without unity.

Overall, "Mayapan" is a powerful critique of the social and economic inequalities faced by marginalized individuals, particularly indigenous people, emphasizing the need for solidarity and the fight against injustice.

Line by Line Meaning

E vestito a festa come un
And dressed up like a party, just like

Pezzente camminava per la città
A beggar he walked through the city

Non si accorge di lui, civile società
Civil society doesn't notice him

Per i ricchi lui non è niente
For the rich, he is nothing

Come fosse trasparente
As if he were transparent

Se esista o no che differenza fa?
Whether he exists or not, what difference does it make?

Quanto vale un'oncia di piombo? Quanto
How much is an ounce of lead worth? How much

Un Indio? Poco di più
An indigenous person? A little more

Silenzioso il Puma attenderà e
Silent, the Puma will wait and

Il Serpente veloce colpirà
The fast Serpent will strike

Ora anche se vuoi tu non lo vedi più
Now even if you want, you don't see him anymore