Paula Egonou he had already said everything at the press conference, causing a stir. “Yes, Italy is a racist country,” the volleyball player said without restraint, “this does not mean that everyone is like that, that they are ignorant. He’s getting better, definitely. I don’t want to play the victim, but I’ll just tell you how things are.” In support of his words, insults and attacks that preceded the monologue of the co-host went. However, she, on the stage of Ariston, where he was one of the organizers of the third evening of the festival in Sanremo. she rose with grace and love for her country and he talked about what it means to grow up feeling different.

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Monologue by Paola Egonou at San Remo 2023

“I am the first of three siblings and I owe everything to my parents,” said the volleyball player born in 1998, visibly agitated, “they made me live a happy childhood and taught me that if you want something, you have to deserve”. “As a child, I was obsessed with ‘why’ questions,” she continues, “Why am I tall? Why do people ask me if I’m Italian? Over time, I realized that my diversity is my uniqueness, I am me.” She speaks about racism on stage less directly, but never retreats: “I am the one who, when asked about racism, answers:“ We are all the same out of sight».

Then he gets up and confesses his love for Italy, and it hurts even to think that for someone it was a duty. Instead, she spontaneously says: “I love Italy, I proudly wear this blue shirt, which for me is the most beautiful in the world. and I have a deep sense of responsibility towards this country, on which I place all my hopes for tomorrow.” Finally, the last words belong to the sport that taught her to lose the most: “I am the one to whom sport has given so much and that he does not believe that defeat happens only when you lose the game. The one who gets the lowest grade in school or fails to realize his dream on the first try is not a failure. The biggest successes can come from the hardest defeats.”