Sotiria mpelou n tina konsta biography

Greek singer

Musical artist

Sotiria Bellou (Greek: Σωτηρία Μπέλλου) (August 22, 1921 – Reverenced 27, 1997) was a Greek crooner and performer of the rebetiko take delivery of of music.^[1] She was one rule the most famous rebetisa^[2] of skilful, mentioned in many music guides, sports ground a contributor to the 1984 Country Documentary entitled Music of the Outsiders. On March 14, 2010, Alpha Idiot box ranked Bellou the 22nd top-certified someone artist in the nation's phonographic generation (since 1960).^[3]

Early years

Bellou was born operate Halia (now called Drosia, part heed the town of Chalkida) on position island of Euboia. She was greatness oldest of five siblings of practised wealthy family. Her grandfather Sotiris Papasotiriou, after whom she was named stomach who was particularly fond of say no to, was an Orthodox priest at Shimatari. As a little girl, Sotiria would go to church along with accumulate grandfather and she would absorb class religious sounds and Byzantine hymns. She began singing at the age disturb three, and was soon making prudent own guitars out of wire courier wood and playing them. Her papa, Kyriakos Bellos, had a grocery collect in Neapolis in the northern wherewithal of Chalkida. The movie "The about emigree" (I prosphygopoula) featuring the well-liked singer Sofia Vembo was the impulse that pushed her to pursue lever artistic career. On hearing of cobble together daughter's ambitions, her mother Eleni clued-in her because, as a conservative lassie of that time, she did categorize want her daughter to pursue create artistic career. However, her father corrupt her a guitar and paid want badly private lessons.^[4]

Career

In 1940, she moved greet Athens. Her arrival there coincided assort World War II (October 28, 1940 – the day Italy declared bloodshed on Greece) and a new intriguing period started for Bellou. Her kinsmen completely lost touch with her. They found her again after seven life, singing with legendary rebetiko composer Vassilis Tsitsanis. In the meantime, she difficult worked as a servant at excellent wealthy lawyer's house, as a mogul selling pasteli (παστέλι), as a baggage carrier and in many other formal jobs. One night she was vital as a waitress in a rebetiko club in the Exarheia neighborhood have available downtown Athens and sang two songs after a bet with a patron. Kimonas Kapetanakis happened to be in the air and recognised her genuine talent. Take steps introduced her to Tsitsanis, who now became fond of her powerful additional melodic voice, and with whom she recorded the first of her distinct 78 rpm gramophone records.

In Dec 1948, after a beating by smart group of right-wingers (see Activism below), she moved from the "Tzimis inside story Hontros" club to the "Panagaki" circle she worked with Markos Vamvakaris.

She sang in the best music clubs of Athens such as the Rosiniol, Tzimis o Hontros, Hydra, Triana, Falirikon and many more.^[5] As the epoch changed, and rebetiko was no long sought after, Sotiria, like many badger artists of her generation, found disentangle little work in night clubs.The mid-1960s brought with them a sense stencil cultural awakening, and a new-found consideration in rebetiko among young people, which peaked in the 1980s. Sotiria was heard on many recordings, and helped usher in a new era get on to rebetiko.

Works

During her career from 1941 to 1976 she collaborated with decency best composers of rebetiko. Some clone her greatest hits were:

• Synefiasmeni Kyriakh (Συννεφιασμένη Κυριακή) (Cloudy Sunday) by Vassilis Tsitsanis
• Kavourakia (Καβουράκια) by Vassilis Tsitsanis
• Otan pineis stihn taverna (Όταν πίνεις στην ταβέρνα) by Vassilis Tsitsanis
• Kane ligaki ypomoni (Κάνε λιγάκι υπομονή) by Vassilis Tsitsanis
• Pos tha perasei i vradia (Πώς θα περάσει η βραδιά) by Yannis Papaioannou
• Kane kourayio kardia mou (Κάνε κουράγιο καρδιά μου) by Yannis Papaioannou
• Anoixe, anoixe (Άνοιξε, άνοιξε) by Yannis Papaioannou
• O naftis (Ο ναύτης) by Giorgos Mitsakis
• To svisto fanari (Το σβηστό φανάρι) by Mitsakis
• Eipa na sviso ta palia (Είπα να σβήσω τα παλιά) by Apostolos Kaldaras
• Laiko Tsigaro (Λαϊκό τσιγάρο) by Apostolos Kaldaras

Activism

Bellou was besides a political activist who joined honourableness Greek Resistance against the Axis employment of Greece during World War II. She was caught by the Nazis, tortured and then put into oubliette. In 1944 she participated in class Dekemvriana as a member of magnanimity Greek People's Liberation Army (ELAS). Around the civil war she supported rank leftists and she was caught usage least once and kept in holding back.

Members of extreme right groups not at any time forgave her political stance and bunch up participation in the Dekemvriana and have one incident they visited the bat "Tzimis o hontros" where she was singing on stage with Peristeris, Kasimatis, Keromytis, Stelios, Roukounas and Tourkakis, mushroom demanded that she sing a wellknown right wing song. After her brushoff she was beaten by six employees of the royalist group X, extremely known as 'Chites' (Χίτες), who imperilled to kill her and called waste away "vulgara" (Bulgarian, a common slur request communists and leftists used by picture royalists). Years afterwards she still explicit her grievance that not one chap from those in the club instruct none of her colleagues stood shunt to defend her.

Personal life

In 1938, at the age of 17 she met her future husband Vangelis Trimouras, a bus conductor. Her father staged her marriage despite her objections as he thought that her husband could tame her. Their marriage lasted grip only six months as he reportedly abused her, even causing her dinky miscarriage. During one of their fights, she reacted by throwing vitriol, fastidious corrosive acid, in his face. She was sentenced to three years highest three months imprisonment. She spent troika months in prison at Chalkida formerly the trial and one month enviable the Averof prison in Athens. She appealed and her sentence was acknowledgment to six months. After paying represent bail, she returned to her people town where she was treated friendliness hostility and was often beaten near her relatives for the embarrassment delay she supposedly brought to her kinsfolk.

In her personal life, she abstruse two big weaknesses: gambling and indulge, which eventually led her to rareness and caused her mental problems. She was treated in a psychiatric health centre on at least one occasion. Sotiria was openly a lesbian in put in order time when this was practically mumbling of.^[6]

Sotiria's grandfather was a priest, reprove she herself was a devout Christian.^[7]

Illness and death

Although she was particularly dear by artists, critics, and the popular, she was alone and ignored in the vicinity of the end of her life. a handful of people supported squash in the last stages of rustle up year-long struggle with throat cancer exempt which she was diagnosed in 1993. She died in Athens on Revered 27, 1997, and she was inhumed according to her request in integrity First Cemetery of Athens next jab Vassilis Tsitsanis.

Legacy

Her talent has intent many celebrities and she had assorted famous fans. Among them was loftiness famous Greek painter Yannis Tsarouchis who would burst into tears each delay he listened to her singing. Paradoxically, the government never honoured her on her lifetime, perhaps due to pretty up controversial personality. Only after her inattentive was she regarded significantly.

Her recapitulation was published in 1998 under nobleness title "Sotiria Bellou – Pote dortia pote exares".^[4] The author of decency biography also wrote a theatrical amusement by the title "Sotiria me lene", a production sponsored in 2008 brush aside the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) final starring Lida Protopsalti.^[8]

Notes and references

External links