A few years ago I wrote a poem about the long-awaited time of the year when the rains finally arrive on the Kenyan coast.
In these parts, to keep the tourists who are our bread and butter, we wait patiently for the high season to end and, after Easter, we begin to implore Jupiter Pluvio (here called Baba Mvua) to do his duty, because since tourism alone no longer provides food, bread is made with wheat, as it should be.
So at the first rains, which on the coast being the south of Kenya, as in all the south of the world, arrive later, we rejoice and celebrate, hoping that they do not exaggerate as sometimes happens, that from nowhere floods arrive and entire villages disappear.
Back to the poem. Once the poem was written and Baba Mvua was invoked, the fellow Master Sbringo read it and while he was reading it, he already had the notes in his head.
That's how this song was born. This year, in view of the forthcoming album entitled "Once Upon a Time There Were Italians in Kenya", it has been reworked at the mixer by that genius named Franco Cufone, an old (but really old...) acquaintance of Malindi and surroundings and sound engineer, among others, of Elio e le Storie Tese. Here are the lyrics, the song and the video of QUANDO PIOVE A ;MALINDI!

When it rains in Malindi, nature is playful
it is an Easter for the senses
every plant is resurrected
and discovers itself fertile

When it rains in Malindi it sinks into oblivion
with hibernating colours
even the blue rests
every leaf is soft green

When it rains in Malindi there is no longer a hubbub
the beaches are empty
the markets are silent
and calm surrounds you

When it rains in Malindi every street is flooded
every pothole is a swimming pool
every bump a trap
and the roundabout is a lake

When it rains in Malindi you have to stay on the wave
that if you look for a foothold
everything escapes you
like an anaconda

When it rains in Malindi you see everything dripping
from makuti to mabati
pipes and manholes
everything floods with water

But when it rains in Malindi it is a deep joy
where the soul floats
In a bath of peace
And your world is cleansed