Known locally as il-Maws, Ġużepp Buttigieg needs no introduction among local fireworks enthusiasts.  A licensed pyrotechnician since 1984, fireworks have been his passion and work all his life.  While his devotion to his village’s patron saint has directed his work, Ġużepp, a seasoned pyrotechnician, has always manufactured fireworks in licensed fireworks factories and participated in most feasts on the island of Gozo and even Malta.

His first forays in the fireworks world started at a very young age. As a youngster, he visited fireworks enthusiasts, and this left an indelible mark on him.  In the seventies, fireworks complexes consisted of a couple of rooms and a yard under the leadership of a licensed pyrotechnician.  All this happened over fifty years ago, and as he wistfully mentions that all of his original mentors have passed on, he is keen to highlight that this group of fireworks aficionados had only one aim – having a supreme fireworks display during the patron saint’s feast.   The fireworks tradition in Ġużepp’s village dates back 150 years ago.  The story goes that in those years, the village of Ta’ Sannat would even go as far as ordering one pound (Lira) worth of fireworks to be let off during the feast.

When Ġużepp first started in this field, the knowledge of fireworks was somewhat limited to what he refers to as ‘bomba’ (petard) and ‘murtaletti’ (small multi-break shells).  Ġużepp was still young when his foremost mentor, Kelinu Azzopardi, began experimenting with coloured multi-break shells (tal-kulur).  This innovative endeavour soon became Ġużepp’s lifelong passion.

Ġużepp explains that the fireworks display during the feast is the culmination of a year-long effort, and he repeatedly emphasises that this work demands the proper licences, permissions, and strict adherence to safety standards.  Throughout the year, fireworks enthusiasts dedicate their spare time to crafting the shells and cardboard cartridges, a meticulous process that requires precision and careful attention to detail.  Once ready, these are filled with fireworks and safely stored in a licensed fireworks warehouse until the days of the feast celebration are near.

Ġużepp begins by likening the art of crafting fireworks to the work of a chemist.  He explains that just as a chemist meticulously combines various ingredients to produce a desired reaction, creating fireworks involves blending different substances to produce dazzling displays that light up the night sky.  He explains that it ultimately boils down to recipes that one needs to diligently harness while crafting the shells.  The making of colourful sky bursts is all about following a recipe.  Like food recipes, the visual effects are created according to specific chemical mixes.  As colour experts, Ġużepp’s team worked with colour mixes that resulted in shimmering or glittering fireworks (tat-tleblib or brillanti) and multi-break circular colour bursts (kulur taċ-ċrieki).  In those days, the aerial displays featured colourful shells with three bangs, a far cry from today’s expansive shows.  However, Ġużepp quickly points out that today’s advanced shells know their origins in the eighties.

In Ġużepp’s early days, no official pyrotechnic committee led these activities related to the feast’s fireworks.  The small pyrotechnics team would decide on the quantity and type of fireworks to be fired during the feast according to the fireworks they would have produced during the year.  The team would also decide on the specific days and times of day, marking the petards for Friday and Saturday, as well as the vespers, the salute and the grand finale for the Sunday procession.  By comparison, today’s committee is much more organised, roping in more volunteers, with different members focusing on supporting activities such as fundraising.

Eventually, all fireworks would be transported to the launching field, and the team would set up launching tubes as early as one month before the feast.   These launching tubes (kanni) position and direct the firework as it is ignited and sent into the air.  When asked about attending the feast, Ġużepp remarks that the fireworks team experiences the celebration from the dusty field, where their work as pyrotechnicians transforms into a breathtaking spectacle for the crowd to enjoy.  Ġużepp passionately speaks about 20th July, the liturgical feast day of St Margaret, the village’s patron saint, a day that, no matter what must be heralded with fireworks.  He recalls that in 1984, following an unfortunate explosion earlier that year, all stored fireworks had been lost, and the team had no fireworks to let off on 20th July.  Even his elderly, house-bound mother had inquired about the absence of petards commemorating the day.  Honouring the occasion with petards had long been a tradition in a village where the love of fireworks has always united young and old.

Over the years, Ġużepp has witnessed the village team’s skill and dedication grow steadily, eventually earning the village a national reputation for its impressive fireworks displays.  Crowds flocked to the feast to witness the diverse fireworks, including those with two or three layered bangs.  At that time, only the team from Ta’ Sannat had mastered the art of crafting such displays in Gozo.  Producing fireworks is like a journey of constant discoveries and acquiring new know-how.  As the team of pyrotechnicians tried new things, they also relied on knowledge gleaned from other fireworks enthusiasts in Malta, where they regularly visited the feasts to expand their understanding of other fireworks displays.  The nineties were an era of fantastic fireworks furore.  During 1995 and 1996, Ġużepp distinctly remembers personally creating a record number of 140 coloured shells for St Margaret’s feast.  This number excluded the multi-break flash petards (beraq) and salute petards that his teammates had worked on concurrently.  The sense of satisfaction still lingers in his voice as he narrates that in that year, the team had executed a perfect display in all its facets.  Ġużepp’s story is also marked by the doom of two fireworks explosions that occurred.  In particular, he recalls the tragic demise of Kelinu Azzopardi in an explosion.  Ġużepp feels that on that day, they not only lost a leader and a mentor, but the whole team experienced a significant setback.

When asked about today’s fireworks, he notes how much the sector has advanced.  The synchronised displays of today are a far cry from those of his youth.  Modern shows have become an essential part of feast celebrations, drawing crowds who come to marvel at the spectacular displays.  Ġużepp’s specialisation was always the colourful multi-break shell, and nowadays, his favourite type of fireworks are the spherical-shaped single-shot shells (blalen).  With the look of a seasoned expert on his face, he talks about the recipes for creating mint, blue and violet crackling (tqarmiċ) and of the serpentine rivers in red, yellow and white colour.  He explains that in the early eighties, their team was the only group with the know-how to handle the purple colour, a particularly volatile and dangerous colour while the shell is being crafted.   Colour recipes are usually handed down or shared through licensed experts, as experimenting in this area can be risky.  However, he points out that among the Maltese and Gozitan pyrotechnicians, there is a vibe of healthy competition, and different factories have their concoctions for particular colours and effects that are not shared with others.  This has resulted in some unique colours and effects associated with particular fireworks factories.  In the last couple of years, new records have been set by Maltese fireworks enthusiasts, including the addition of new innovative colours.

There’s no doubt that working in this field stems from a real passion.  The stakes of dabbling in this risky job are too high, and the real pyrotechnicians know it is impossible to put a ‘price’ on a petard.  From his end, Ġużepp has always stuck by his personal motto that safety comes first, and he participated in several licensed fireworks factories.  Even with dangers, the love for the art is still strong, and Ġużepp is keen to highlight that Malta has earned a ranking among the top four on an international level in the world of fireworks displays.

When the feast starts approaching, Ġużepp says that his excitement heightens as all the work is done in honour of the patron saint.  His voice quivers, and it is clear that emotions run high for this man who firmly regards pyrotechnics as a form of art.

Every year, as the feast concludes and the statue of St. Margaret enters the parish church after the procession, Ġużepp and all the members of the fireworks team leave the dusty fields at the village outskirts and make their way into the church, each carrying a red rose.  This electrifying and emotionally charged moment serves as a heartfelt “thank you” to the Saint for keeping them safe in their challenging and sometimes perilous job, which ultimately creates the spectacular displays that light up the summer night sky.

VisitGozo would like to thank Ġużepp Buttigieg and the Għaqda Tan-Nar 20 ta’ Lulju Sannat for the interview.