Our friends in Switzerland are in a curious situation. They have lots of languages to choose from, and they can confuse the average casual viewer by entering in a tongue we don’t always expect.
Today’s birthday girl Paola Felix (née Paola Maria Augusta del Medico) is a case in point. Her name suggests Italian, but she hails from a mainly German-speaking canton. And then she only goes and sings in French. Not once, but twice. She’s a bit of a minx to do that. But no matter, it’s perfectly within the rules, and in her two appearances French was a very dominant language in Eurovision circles. Our Paola came fifth in 1969 and fourth in 1980. She should have done a Peter, Sue & Marc and kept trying, and maybe would have beaten a certain Ms False-flagger Dion to the big prize. She did come second to another certain Nicole in 1982, but that was only in a national final. But here’s Paola’s best big-time performance.
Paola is 72 today.
Bonne anniversaire/Frohe Geburtstag/Buon compleanno, Paola!