A competition organized by the Municipality of Cagliari and the Conservatory to commemorate 120 years of female courage.
In May 1906, in a Cagliari marked by the poverty of the early twentieth century, it was the women of the Tobacco Factory—the cigar makers—who spearheaded the first major revolt for workers' rights and the dignity of the most vulnerable. One hundred and twenty years later, their voices resonate once again, transformed into music: at the suggestion of the city councilor for culture, Maria Francesca Chiappe, the Cagliari administration launched the music competition "The Song of the Cigar Makers," organized in collaboration with the Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina Conservatory.
The initiative is part of a broader program that the Municipality will present in the coming months, with the aim of never forgetting the women and men who, in 1906, fought, were persecuted, and sometimes died for bread and dignity.
"Maria Francesca Chiappe's idea for the contest was met with enthusiasm," says Aurora Cogliandro, director of the Cagliari Conservatory, currently in Sri Lanka with faculty and students for the Music4D project. "In recent years, our institution has increasingly embraced a vision of music grounded in innovation and the breaking down of cultural and social barriers. It's a wonderful opportunity to foster new compositions born in the wake of an event that took place 120 years ago, yet is still very contemporary in its themes. A musical reflection open to all instruments, languages, voices, and languages. I believe the competition, with these characteristics, will be extremely lively. Who knows how many new talents we'll hear..."
The competition invites emerging musicians and composers under the age of 35 to tackle a key moment in the city's history, reinterpreting the courage and solidarity that inspired the cigar makers through sound. It's an opportunity to combine memory and creativity, to bring tradition into dialogue with contemporary forms of musical expression, and to offer young artists a platform to showcase their vision of the world.
