From Gorgeous Gozo to The Gozitans

You have to be a Gozitan to produce a book after book about Gozo and to be thinking about the next book, also about Gozo, when the ink has hardly dried on your latest book.

This is exactly what is happening in Fr Charles Cini's mind. As he enthusiasically leafs through the lavishly-illustrated book Gorgeous Gozo with the enthusiasm of a child who received the gift he was dreaming of, Fr Cini looks at photos of weather-beaten, expressive faces and says his next book will be about Gozitans per se.

His infectious enthusism for Gozo has led him to make a declaration which is bound to result in him getting jibes for the rest of his life for he said that although there is a saying "Ghawdxi tajjeb aharqu ahseb w ara hazin", loosley translated meaning: Burn a good Gozitan let alone a bad one", he sees little value in pursuing the matter further as he never met a bad Gozitan!

Apart from being touched on important aspects of history that has shaped Gozo, Fr Cini says the sister island has given him an identity he is proud of.

"Being the world delegate for Salesian Past Pupils, I had the opportunity to tour the world and the more I travelled the more I loved Gozo. I became more fascinated with Gozo's history and the charm that whoever visits falls in love with it. It's the land of legend, myth, charm and beauty.

"Believe me, I've been around the world, from Latin America, all around Europe, to Australia, Papua New Guinea and Asia. But I still love Gozo best," Fr Cini says.

The idea to write the book came over a year ago and he teamed up with Daniel Cilia. They discussed the idea with Joe Mizzi, of MidseaBooks, another man with Gozitan roots, and the book started becoming a tangible notion.

"There is a shortage of books on Gozo. I wanted to make a popular book for Gozitans and the Maltese alike as well as for tourists and migrants. I did not want an academic study but I wanted to capture what the soul of Gozo and Gozitans looks like. And what better eyes can do that than those of another Gozitan. So I teamed up with talented photographer Daniel Cilia," Fr Cini said.

"I want the book to enkindle in the heart of the Gozitans the pride and the love for their own country and that would lead them to defend their island by getting to know it better, appreciate it more and present it both to Maltese and tourists.

"There is a big difference in Gozo from my childhood days. We barely had anything in those days. The Don Bosco oratory was the hub of youth, music, dance, literature, religion and culture.

"Life was more simple and serene as there were not many distractions and we used to interest ourselves in Gozo. We had more time to read. Today, people work, shower and off to a disco until 4 a.m. You can't turn the clock back but we can at least stop and think," he urges.

So his next book will be The Gozitans.

"Gozo is different. There is a diversity in richness and we do not have any inferiority. It will be a study on the evolution of the socio-political, religious and cultural identity of Gozitans," Fr Cini said.