Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1471699
6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 26 JUNE 2022 NEWS MATTHEW VELLA JOSEPH Portelli as Saint John the Revelator. The Gozitan construction tycoon has enjoyed a holy ac- colade since 2019, when artist Adonai Camilleri Cauchi im- mortalised the reviled magnate and loved big man of football as the evangelist of the Apoca- lypse in a festa standard (paval- jun) for the Nadur feast. Blasphemous marriage of Malta's religious pageantry and the 'blood' money of urban de- struction? Or simply folkloris- tic charm? Perhaps nobody other than self-confessed lover of the Mal- tese festa, composer and musi- can Alex Vella Gregory, could have offered a more nuanced look at the folkloristic ascen- sion of Portelli to the pantheon of Christianity. "I must admit my initial reac- tion was disgust – but mostly because of my personal views on the man in question. Here is a man who has destroyed ag- ricultural land, ruined streets- capes, littered our urban areas with cheap developments, con- tributed in no mean way to the ridiculous prices of the prop- erty market, and bulldozed his way over public interests," Vel- la Gregory said. But public figures and pa- trons of the arts – or donors – have long been immortalised in works of art, since the late Mediaeval and Renaissance. Vella Gregory proffers that even Dürer famously painted himself as Christ. "We must also put this in a contemporary cultural context. We live in age of the selfie, where one's own image is to be shared and glorified. The self- ie has replaced the portrait as a vehicle for self-promotion, and though we no longer try to cast ourselves as saints, the selfie and the portrait still have a common function. It is about projecting a desirable – and of- ten dishonest – image of our- selves," Vella Gregory says. However, here is Portelli, a construction magnate, le- gitimising his mogul's status by appearing as a saint. No doubt a sign of gratitude for his donations to the local fes- ta – Portelli was also Nadur FC's president, and remains its main backer through his young son. "With rapidly rising costs and declining donations from within the community, many organisations turn to business- es and politicians to survive. As things stand they are rarely in a position to refuse," Vella Greg- ory says. Portelli knows his financial clout is buying him commu- nity influence and allows his mega-projects to face less pop- ular opposition by bankroll- ing feasts and public projects. "They will not consider the environmental, social, finan- cial, or moral implications of such projects... because the effects of these projects won't manifest themselves until it's too late. All they will see is a benevolent donor who is 'rich but helps others'," Vella Greg- ory warns. And festas are not some street party or bizarro cult: the stay- ing power of Malta's religious feasts reflect the deep roots of being part of a community. "It's the need to be part of a community, the need to ex- press fear, anger, hope, and even love, through ritual ac- tions, the need to feel owner- ship and belonging, and the need to perpetuate stories that link us to our ancestors. Portelli knows this. He may be many things, but he sure is not stupid. That is why he invests publicly in festas and sports... it's the perfect vehicle for dis- abling opponents." And how to combat this? Again Vella Gregory's love for the festa offers an opportuni- ty for a "public" route to rout out the private channel of me- ga-construction cash. "Simple: Reclaim the festa... and our communities... from the Portellis and Ċaqnus of this world, from political parties and business interests. Be part of them, by participating in them, by giving your time and where possible, money. Make your voice heard – disapprove of blood money. "We are at a crucial stage in our political history – with pol- iticians and businesses reneg- ing on their duties to safeguard our heritage, wellbeing, and rights. It's civil society which must fight for what is right." 'St John of Konkos' 'Portelli's not stupid: he invests in festa and sports to disable his opponents' Composer Alex Vella Gregory, a festa enthusiast who promotes the community bonds they serve, says Joseph Portelli's tribute as John the evangelist underlines the need for the public to reclaim their local festas Heavenly ascension for Joseph Portelli (top) and constructoin hell in Qala (right), where one of his projects sucked up undeveloped land "Reclaim the festa... and our communities... from the Portellis and Ċaqnus of this world, from political parties and business interests. Be part of them, by participating in them, by giving your time and where possible, money"