AlterFestA - About us

The AlterFestA, one of the musical realities more affirmed of the south Italy, were born to Cisternino in the province of Brindisi, around thirty years ago. It was born
in concomitance with the reopening of the place circle ARCI, organizer of the festival, after some years of inactivity and with finality of promotion of the same circle and its activities. A circle that in all these years has been involved in the solidarity and in the chatity work for the Albanian immigrants, for the people of ex-Yugoslavia, for Algeria, for the Chapas; involved in the ostracism and in the juvenile problem list; in the diffusion of an alternative culture and spaces of socialization, in moments of relaxation and leisure time for the young people.

A festival that marks therefore a new beginning for the ARCI of Cisternino. It concerned then a small reality that counted few about ten presences and that saw to perform musicians of the near countries. Nevertheless since the beginning we have wanted to give to the AlterFestA specific characteristics that differentiated it from the other festival. Among these characteristics the promotion of the music of quality excelled, in all sorts, some of which were not usual to listen in our countries or that were introduced for the first time, such as the jazz.

Therefore we were motivated from brave intents to favor new musical knowledges, discounting a smaller share of public. Choice that has been paying to distance of years. In the years the festival is grown as, both in qualitative terms and quantitative.
To the last edition it is calculated that has taken part different thousand
of people in the five evenings of the festival. People coming from the whole Puglia, but also from other Italian regions and European countries. Among the various reviews of music and festival of quality, the AlterFestA occupies by now a protagonist role, followed from a young public and not.

Subsequently the AlterFestA has assumed a connotation of engagement, every year being devoted to a theme of great actuality: racism, nuclear, ex-Yugoslavia, Algeria, Palestine, immigration, war in Kossovo, photographic exhibitions and various documentary material testify the solidarity and the report on some tragedies that torment the humanity. The success of this event is to seek in the experience and especially in the collective and voluntary contribution of so many collaborators.

Against every tendency that sets to the first place the profit, the AlterfestA is an example of a disinterested collective engagement, that is the secret of the result of this musical demonstration. Many young people offer their voluntary and enthusiastic contribution for the result of the festival.

Another important characteristic is the free admission. Despite the economic difficulties and in times of ruling liberism, we want to safeguard
this important principle,
to allow everybody, also to the penniless, to be able to freely access
the fruition of the performances.

The AlterFestA is completely self-managed and self-financed. It doesn't use of any type of contribution from the various corporate bodies; with the costs in continuous growth this lack begins to be a serious limit of the festival, that penalizes it putting to risk the realization of the next editions. With the administrations and the local authorities that don't intervene for sustaining the AlterFestA, it is urgent to find other solutions to guarantee the festival from the economic point of view. It would be in the interest of the young people of the whole Puglia and over and of the same ARCI, to safeguard the AlterFestA that has become an important cultural patrimony, an appointment very attended. To keep on bringing into existence the AlterFestA means to keep on collectively bringing into existence the hope that can be thought in great in this society dominated by the money god.