Afifa Iskandar Estefan ( ar, عفيفة إسكندر إصطيفان) was an Iraqi singer throughout the middle of the 20th century. She was born on 10 December 1921 in

Mosul Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second large ...

, Iraq. She was considered one of the best female singers in Iraqi history. She was nicknamed the "Iraqi Blackbird".

Biography

Afifa Iskandar was born in Mosul to an

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

father and a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

mother. She lived in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

, and started singing at the age of 5. At her first party in 1935, she sang Al maqam. At the age of 12, she married an Armenian man named Iskandar Estefan and took his last name. She also worked as an actress and appeared in many productions. In 1938, she traveled to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

to work with

Badia Masabni Badia Masabni ( ar, بديعة مصابني, born ''Wadiha Masabni'' ( ar, وديعة مصابني); 1 February 1892 – 23 July 1974), was a belly dancer, singer, actress, night club owner and businesswoman considered as the developer of modern b ...

Taheyya Kariokka Taheyya Kariokka ( ar, تحية كاريوكا) also Tahiya Carioca (born Badaweya Mohamed Kareem Ali Elnedany), (February 22, 1915 – September 20, 1999) was an Egyptian belly dancer and film actress. Early life Born in the Egyptia ...

, and

Mohamed Abdel Wahab ''Mohamed Abdel Wahab'' ( ar, محمد عبد الوهاب), also transliterated ''Mohamed Abd El-Wahhab'' (March 13, 1902 – May 4, 1991), was a prominent 20th-century Egyptian singer, actor, and composer. He is best known for his Romantic a ...

. She died of cancer on 21 October 2012 in Baghdad.

Tribute

On 10 December 2019,

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celebrated her 98th birthday with a

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Singles

Iskandr sang nearly 1500 songs. These include: * "Ya aqqid alhajibayn" * "Ikhlas meni" * "Ya sokari ya assali" * "Ared Allah yebain hobty behom" * "Qaleb qaleb'" * "Jani alhlo labs sobhyat aledd" * "Nem wa sadek sadri" * "Msafren" * "Qsma" * "Helal eid"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iskandar, Afifa 1921 births 2012 deaths People from Mosul 20th-century Iraqi women singers Iraqi writers Iraqi people of Armenian descent Iraqi Christians Iraqi people of Greek descent Musicians from Baghdad Iraqi expatriates in Egypt