Originally from Cremona in the Northern Italy region Lombardy, Mina Mazzini—Mina in discography—has a long string of timeless success to here name. At 80, her sound career spans more than four decades.
She made the history of Italian television in the 60s and 70s with a combination of stage presence and incredible talent, then decided to abandon it forever. The images here are but a small sampling of the amazing creativity of the Mina brand. Her voice is unmatched to this day.
I have used a reverse chronological order for the collage. She has since recorded / reissued several new albums solo and duets. She's likely the only case in the world of an artist who doesn't speak to the media (no interviews and no public appearances for more than 20 years), yet still climbs to first place every time she comes out with a new disk.
Mina's last concert was in 1978 in Viareggio. She canceled all subsequent scheduled concerts due to a bad viral bronco-pneumonia, which convinced her to abandon the stage permanently.
In 2001, she opened the doors of her recording studio to stream live recording.
Mina's voice is a unique and respected brand. And so are the visuals — check out the Mona Lisa likeness in Olio from 1999, the Disney-like characters for her duet with Celentano from 1998. The four illustrated faces are from the cover of Mina Canta i Beatles, an album she recorded in 1993 (fabulous, if you ask me.)
There was also Mina the writer: she had a regular column in La Stampa, and a Q&A in Italian Vanity Fair. Her writing is crisp, her content solid, her style decidedly irreverent. On March 25, 2000 she says# (translation mine):
“We don't like this. This is not enough. Our ordinary, crude, banal, simple life without flights is not enough for us. Our brothers resemble us only outwardly and we do not even recognize ourselves in our children, forced to live in such a ferociously unpleasant time.
We don't care much about the rest of humanity, we've lost the desire to exercise humility in understanding the other in front of us. Here there's no happiness. Certainly there's no denying that everyone is free to find their Eden in any choice. But only on condition of not destroying oneself or not handing oneself over to the greedy hands of those who peddle illusions.”
This too sounds timeless.
Mina was not afraid to try new things, and although she changed her look and presentation frequently, the brand remains solid. A woman of the many faces, opinions and vocal abilities, Mina embodies all the qualities of a great— and enduring — brand: mystery, sensuality, and intimacy.
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P.S. If you listen just the first song, Oggi Sono Io, you know hitting those notes is talent and practice. In my best days, I can get close.