Saviano: Naples, my father (Part 1)

. There is an endless generosity about him: he has assisted many more goals in his career than he has scored himself.

There is also the famous "goal of the century", which was the "Hand of God" that passed five people in a row. Regarding that scene, Maradona later left a very moving description: "One time when I was playing, my brother Lalo was watching from the sidelines. He said to me: 'Diego, why didn't you pass the goalkeeper after passing all the defensive players?' In the England game, I found that the situation in front of me was exactly the same as that time, so I thought to myself: Now I will do what he said."

At that moment, it was entirely the logic of the game, not a utilitarian calculation. He wasn't thinking about the big prize money, the pressure of a World Cup knockout match and the world's attention. He's just playing. This is what Maradona passed on to us: the joy of play, the lightness of creativity.

Naples was not a successful city at the time: it was rich in natural and cultural resources, but it failed to become a tourist center, failed to establish a strong industrial system, and was still trapped in the gang wars of the Camorra. But when the team wins, we feel that the whole of Italy and even the world finally realizes that we are not just synonymous with chaos, poverty or crime; we can also win with talent, strategy and strength.

Such a victory is also representative of the Naples spirit. In a place where rights are not guaranteed, people have to rely on imagination, resourcefulness and strategy to survive. This spirit belongs both to Italy and especially to Naples. No right to work, no public transportation, no municipal resources? You have to invent your own method. Elsewhere, these things provided by the "system" are replaced in Naples by human creation. Thus, this breeds cunning, illegality and deception, but also creativity, empathy and solidarity - because people must survive.

I will never forget that in the Spanish neighborhood where I grew up, many mothers left their children in the care of transgender people every morning. These transgender people do sex work at night and help take care of their children during the day, while the mothers go to black factories to sew bags, make gloves, and make shoes. At that time, who else in Italy would give their children to these people? Public opinion will say: "How terrible these prostitutes are!" But in Naples, this is just out of the needs of life. Because they are kind, everyone must survive. Thus, the "need to survive" allows people to transcend prejudice. Those women saw that these trans people actually loved children and they longed to have families. What truly eliminates prejudice is not cultural enlightenment, but the reality of survival.

This is Naples.