Habiba Msika, also spelled Messika (حبيبة مسيكة), (born 1903 Testour – February 21, 1930 Tunis), was a Tunisian singer, dancer and actress. Born Marguerite Msika, she was the niece of singer Leila Sfez. She quickly climbed the ladder of fame under the pseudonym Habiba ("beloved"). Prototype of the free, and master of her destiny, charismatic singer and daring actress, adored by the Tunisian population, Msika was a social phenomenon in her time. The film '' The Fire Dance'' by Salma Baccar talks about her career.

Life

Youth

She was born in the Jewish quarter of Tunis in a poor family. Her parents, Daida and Maïha, worked in the wire trade. She learned to read and write in the school of the Israelite Alliance, which she left after seven years, through the help of her aunt, singing lessons, music theory and classical Arabic with the famous composer

Khemaïs Tarnane Khemaïs Tarnane ( aeb, خميّس ترنان) (born Juli 1 1894 in Bizerte and died October 31, 1964) was a Tunisian singer, composer and musician. Born Khemaïs Ben Ali Ben Khemaïs Tarnane. Tarnane is one of the founders and teachers of the ...

and Egyptian tenor Hassan Bannan. She married her cousin Victor Chetboun but their union lasted a short time. Her first recital was held at the palace of La Marsa, where she met her lover: the Minister de la Plume.

Career

In 1920 her career took off; she became a sex symbol and initiated the phenomenon of "soldiers of the night", the nickname for her fans, mostly young dandies of Tunisia. It was at this time that she went with her lover to Paris, where through him she met

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

and Coco Chanel. In March 1925, she interpreted Romeo in ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

'' at the Ben Kamla theatre.

Death

On the morning of February 20, 1930, her former lover Eliyahu Mimouni entered her apartment in Alfred Durand-Claye street in Tunis, and set her on fire. Badly burned, she died the next day, followed soon after by Mimouni. Msika is buried in the cemetery of Borgel in Tunis. Borgel cemetery 15052018 002

References

Sources

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External links

10 taboo Arabic songs: Habiba Msika
{{DEFAULTSORT:Msika, Habiba Tunisian stage actresses 1903 births 1930 deaths 20th-century Tunisian actresses 20th-century Tunisian women singers Tunisian murder victims People murdered in Tunisia Deaths from fire People from Béja Governorate