Apr 01, 2026
3 min read
Few people know it, but this sea song is the bittersweet story of Zaza, a Cuban dancer who performs naked and deals in weapons at the "Barracuda" club.He was rejected by several record companies because he was "uncomfortable".
Immediately after the death of David Riondino on March 29, many Italians read in the newspapers the story of one of the songs of the summer always considered a Latin dance hit for holiday villages.Many remember it as the soundtrack quoted by Jerry Calà in "Christmas Vacation" 1983 with Christian De Sica shaking himself with maracas in the piano bar (following the re-release of the performance, in the same year, interrupted before the word "cocaine" in the Rai studio "Domenica Dina").
Few people know that this is a story of "light" music, a political revolution, an arms trade, the unrequited love of the dancer Zaza (not the meaning of the music, but the person), and the escape from Cuba to a Venezuelan prostitute.We'll get to the story of the lyrics later.Then the authorship, 2018 David Only review of the text written in Riodino, the spirit of Zaza, the one who managed the retreat, was not recognized economically for a long time.
But let's be calm.
Zaza's adventure between weapons and sharks
The song, written in 1975 by David Riondino (but not revealed until some 40 years later) and published the following year, centers on the story of Zaza, a Cuban dancer performing nude at the Barracuda club.Between one ballet and another, Zaza trades weapons on behalf of the revolutionaries, selling machine guns and grenade launchers.In short, a cover while she thinks about Pedro, but loves Miguel, who might actually be Fidel (for some, perhaps Castro, then it was better to let them guess): “Miguel was not there, he was in the Cordillera from morning to night,” the verse says.
Discovered in a double game with polyamory, Zaza is shot and decides to escape by sea to Maracaibo, but is bitten by the "blackest" shark on the cruise.However, he manages to make it to Venezuela, where he opens a brothel with plenty of "malto, rum and cocaine".
In the 130kg weight class of the Creole group, her rolling form has weakened in recent years, but Zazan is still the queen of the old house, and the song ends with a poetic image of her telling those luckier than the irony of the sea attack that she survived;
Farewell to David Riondino, singer-songwriter and versatile artist: he was 73 years old
The place where the song was recorded
In 1980, the song was recorded in a dance format with an arrangement by Mario Saroglia and published in 1981 by the Carosello record company.Lu Colombo's version with Caribbean rhythms and a beach atmosphere became a summer hit, dominated the charts and revived Italian disco.
In the following years, the song was covered by Tony Carrasco for Moon Records, confirming its oceanic undertones.
Raffaella Carrà is wrongly attributed to A similar l'amore begins tu.Various online idols have seen him dancing to maracaibo tunes, but these are the crew's poetic license extended through social media.The event never happened.
David Riondino guest at Via Dei Matti no
David Rivandino, the versatile writer who has left us at the age of 73, has repeatedly described in interviews and public letters how, by not registering with the SIAE of Maracaibo, he lost millions of euros in royalties collected over the years from radio, television and nightclub reproductions.
The civil case for the recognition of Riondino's father in the lyrics ended in 2018. The singer Lu Colombo himself recognized the joint construction of the song and declared that the dispute was resolved, while outlining how Maracaibo "stole" most of his artistic identity, which was destined to be always associated with the success of all their songs.careers. Called "one-hit wonders": Paul Mazzolini, better known as Gazebo, with his success I really like Chopin, but also Righeira from Vamos a la playa or Sandy Marton with people from Ibiza, know something about it, that will remain limited in time.
Yesterday to remember his great friend Riondino, during his show Paolo Rossi allowed himself to change plans: he sang Maracaibo making the whole Teatro Menotti in Milan dance in the last rehearsal of Operaccia Satirica.A gesture that, without a doubt, would have thanked Riondino.
