Vivere

The song *Vivere* has an interesting history that goes beyond its melody. It was conceived by Italian singer-songwriter Gerardina Trovato, who wrote it alongside Angelo Anastasio and Celso Valli. The first time we heard this piece was in 1994, as part of Trovato’s album titled Non è un film. Shortly after, Andrea Bocelli included his own version on his debut album, Il mare calmo della sera. The official release as a single took place in 1996, appearing as the B-side of the popular track Con te partirò. Later, in 1997, Bocelli’s compilation album Romanza brought it back to the musical scene.

The impact of *Vivere* extended over the years. In 2007, Bocelli teamed up with Laura Pausini to record new multilingual versions. One of them, titled Vive Ya (Dare to Live), combined Spanish and Italian, and included passages in English. This Spanish version was recognized with a nomination for Record of the Year at the Latin Grammy Awards in 2008. The production of this reinterpretation was led by Humberto Gatica and Tony Renis, and it was included in Bocelli’s greatest hits album, The Best of Andrea Bocelli: Vivere. The music video for the song, directed by Beniamino Catena, not only accompanied the music but also promoted the “Progetto Vivere,” an initiative by Action Aid to fight poverty. Filmed partly in Africa, the video used the metaphor of watering a tree in the desert to illustrate how each person’s contribution can make a difference.