The Lugano author of Mina's songs

Valentino Alfano writes, first and foremost, for himself. In the beginning, he would have never imagined that his songs could reach artists of the caliber of Mina, for whom he has written several tracks over time. Fate willed that, thanks to a mutual friend, he met the producer and composer Massimiliano Pani, the singer’s son: it was he who listened to his pieces for the first time and chose them for the album Attila from 1979. Among various memories, Valentino recounts the time when he found himself singing his tracks directly in front of Mina, an experience lived with understandable tension. On that occasion he had also composed the music, later arranged in collaboration precisely with Massimiliano Pani. 

The contrast between his musical career and his work at the Lido of Lugano, where he mainly handles installations, is surprising. For him, writing is born from music, from melody. Often with a guitar in hand, he begins to tell a story, putting on paper words that, for him, are already notes of a melody, just as in poetry. The “stories”, as he calls them, come to life from encounters and dialogues with people, transforming into profound, light or even amusing narratives.

His creativity is not something rigid or pre-planned: it follows the rhythm of life, like a wave that rises and falls. “Forcing myself doesn’t get me anywhere, I have to truly feel it inside,” he confides. And it is precisely this spontaneity that guides his creative process and, perhaps, makes his lyrics so authentic.