Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/920426
maltatoday SUNDAY 31 DECEMBER 2017 News 7 OPENING SOON IN MALTA Now, that is not to say that festas cannot be repositories of deeper meaning; of ritualised behaviour that carries significant symbolic value for the given community. But that is – to once again quote Karsten Xuereb's complaints – always-already the function of the established, historically in- grained festas that happen, and will continue to happen, across Maltese towns and villages over the entire year. So the decision to pitch V18 as yet another – more polished and glitzy, to be sure – 'festa' of its own feels like an artificial impo- sition; a desperate and superfi- cial attempt to get at something that's understandable by all and sundry but that only scratches the surface of what we're all about. Worse still, it actually repli- cates a cultural tendency that's already out there, and thriving... and redundancy should be a deadly sin for an initiative which aims to not only inject some- thing new into the cultural tap- estry of Maltese life, but which aims to create a lasting legacy of said newness. The very best one can hope, then, is that once the streets are cleared of the dregs of the first batch of V18-related celebra- tions, which run from January 14 until the official start of Vallet- ta's EcoC role in January 20, we can regroup and reconsider what it is we really want the Capital of Culture narrative to be. Maybe we shouldn't be lulled into un- questioning enjoyment. Maybe a hangover is exactly what we need. treljic@mediatoday.com.mt