Sotiria Bellou ( el, Σωτηρία Μπέλλου) (August 22, 1921 – August 27, 1997) was 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 ...

singer and performer of the ''

rebetiko Rebetiko ( el, ρεμπέτικο, ), plural rebetika ( ), occasionally transliterated as rembetiko or rebetico, is a term used today to designate originally disparate kinds of urban Greek music which have come to be grouped together since the s ...

'' style of music. She was one of the most famous ''rebetisa'' of all, mentioned in many music guides, and a contributor to the 1984 British Documentary entitled Music of the Outsiders. On March 14, 2010,

Alpha TV Alpha TV is a Greek free-to-air channel, being one of the biggest stations in Greece. The station features a mix of Greek and foreign shows with an emphasis on information. The studios are located in Kifissia and Pallini. Alpha TV is owned by Alp ...

ranked Bellou the 22nd top-certified female artist in the nation's phonographic era (since 1960).''Chart Show: Your Countdown''.

. Airdate: March 14, 2010

Early years

Bellou was born in Halia (now called Drosia, part of the town of Chalkida) on the island of

Euboia Evia (, ; el, Εύβοια ; grc, Εὔβοια ) or Euboia (, ) is the second-largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. It is separated from Boeotia in mainland Greece by the narrow Euripus Strait (only at its narrowest p ...

. She was the oldest of five siblings of a wealthy family. Her grandfather Sotiris Papasotiriou, after whom she was named and who was particularly fond of her, was an

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

priest at Shimatari. As a little girl, Sotiria would go to church along with her grandfather and she would absorb the religious sounds and Byzantine hymns. She began singing at the age of three, and was soon making her own guitars out of wire and wood and playing them. Her father, Kyriakos Bellos, had a grocery store in Neapolis in the northern part of Chalkida. The movie "The little emigree" (I prosphygopoula) featuring the popular singer

Sofia Vembo Sofia Vembo ( el, Σοφία Βέμπο; 10 February 1910, in Gallipoli, East Thrace, Turkey – 10 March 1978, in Athens, Greece) was a leading Greek singer and actress active from the interwar period to the early postwar years and the 1950s ...

was the catalyst that pushed her to pursue an artistic career. On hearing of her daughter's ambitions, her mother Eleni beat her because, as a conservative woman of that time, she did not want her daughter to pursue an artistic career. However, her father bought her a guitar and paid for private lessons. (Biography of Sotiria Bellou, in Greek.)

Career

In 1940, she moved to

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

. Her arrival there coincided with

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

(October 28, 1940 – the day Italy declared war on Greece) and a new challenging period started for Bellou. Her family completely lost touch with her. They found her again after seven years, singing with legendary ''rebetiko'' composer

Vassilis Tsitsanis Vassilis Tsitsanis ( el, Βασίλης Τσιτσάνης 18 January 1915 – 18 January 1984) was a Greece, Greek songwriter and bouzouki player. He became one of the leading Greek composers of his time and is widely regarded as one of the foun ...

. In the meantime, she had worked as a servant at a wealthy lawyer's house, as a hawker selling

pasteli :''The term "sesame candy" may also refer to sesame halva.'' Sesame seed candy is a confection of sesame seeds and sugar or honey pressed into a bar or ball. It is popular from the Middle East through South Asia to East Asia. The texture may var ...

( παστέλι), as a luggage carrier and in many other different jobs. One night she was working as a waitress in a ''rebetiko'' club in the

Exarheia Exarcheia ( ) is a community in central Athens, Greece close to the historical building of the National Technical University of Athens. Exarcheia took its name from a 19th century businessman named Exarchos (Greek: Έξαρχος) who opened a larg ...

neighborhood of downtown Athens and sang two songs after a bet with a customer. Kimonas Kapetanakis happened to be there and recognised her genuine talent. He introduced her to Tsitsanis, who instantly became fond of her powerful and melodic voice, and with whom she recorded the first of her many 78 rpm

gramophone record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts nea ...

s. In December 1948, after a beating by a group of right-wingers (see Activism below), she moved from the "Tzimis o Hontros" club to the "Panagaki" where she worked with

Markos Vamvakaris Márkos Vamvakáris ( el, Μάρκος Βαμβακάρης; 10 May 1905 – 8 February 1972), was a ''rebetiko'' musician. He is universally referred to by ''rebetiko'' writers and fans simply by his first name, Márkos. The great significance ...

. She sang in the best

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

clubs of Athens such as the Rosiniol, Tzimis o Hontros, Hydra, Triana, Falirikon and many more. As the times changed, and ''rebetiko'' was no longer sought after, Sotiria, like many other artists of her generation, found very little work in night clubs.The mid 1960s brought with them a sense of cultural awakening, and a new-found interest in ''rebetiko'' among young people, which peaked in the 1980s. Sotiria was heard on many recordings, and helped usher in a new era for ''rebetiko''.

Works

During her career from 1941 to 1976 she collaborated with the best composers of ''rebetiko.'' Some of her greatest hits were: * ''Synefiasmeni Kyriakh'' (Συννεφιασμένη Κυριακή) (Cloudy Sunday) by

*''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 Giorgos Mitsakis ( el, Γιώργος Μητσάκης; Constantinople, 1921 - Athens, 17 November 1993) was a Greek composer and lyricist of numerous ''rebetika'' and folk songs, as well as a skillful bouzouki player. He was also known by the ni ...

*''To svisto fanari'' (Το σβηστό φανάρι) by Mitsakis *''Eipa na sviso ta palia'' (Είπα να σβήσω τα παλιά) by

Apostolos Kaldaras Apostolos may refer to: * The Apostolos (Eastern Orthodox liturgy), a book containing texts traditionally believed to be authored by one of the twelve apostles (disciples) – various epistles and the ''Acts of the Apostles'' – from which one is ...

*''Laiko Tsigaro'' (Λαϊκό τσιγάρο) by Apostolos Kaldaras

Activism

Bellou was also a political activist who joined the Greek Resistance against the Axis occupation of Greece during World War II. She was caught by the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

s, tortured and then put into prison. In 1944 she participated in the

Dekemvriana The ''Dekemvriana'' ( el, Δεκεμβριανά, "December events") refers to a series of clashes fought during World War II in Athens from 3 December 1944 to 11 January 1945. The conflict was the culmination of months of tension between the c ...

as a member of the

Greek People's Liberation Army 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 ...

(ELAS). During the civil war she supported the leftists and she was caught at least once and kept in detention. Members of extreme right groups never forgave her political stance and her participation in the

and in one incident they visited the club "Tzimis o hontros" where she was singing on stage with Peristeris, Kasimatis, Keromytis, Stelios, Roukounas and Tourkakis, and demanded that she sing a famous right wing song. After her refusal she was beaten by six members of the royalist group X, also known as ' Chites' (Χίτες), who threatened to kill her and called her "vulgara" (

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

, a common slur for communists and leftists used by the royalists). Years afterwards she still expressed her grievance that not one man from those in the club and none of her colleagues stood up to defend her.

Personal life

In 1938, at the age of 17 she met her future husband Vangelis Trimouras, a bus conductor. Her father arranged her marriage despite her objections because he thought that her husband could tame her. Their marriage lasted for only six months as he reportedly abused her, even causing her a miscarriage. During one of their fights, she reacted by throwing

vitriol Vitriol is the general chemical name encompassing a class of chemical compound comprising sulfates of certain metalsoriginally, iron or copper. Those mineral substances were distinguished by their color, such as green vitriol for hydrated iron(II ...

, a corrosive acid, in his face. She was sentenced to three years and three months imprisonment. She spent three months in prison at Chalkida before the trial and one month at the Averof prison in

. She appealed and her sentence was reduced to six months. After paying for bail, she returned to her home town where she was treated with hostility and was often beaten by her relatives for the embarrassment that she supposedly brought to her family. In her personal life, she had two big weaknesses: gambling and alcohol, which eventually led her to poverty and caused her mental problems. She was treated in a psychiatric clinic on at least one occasion. Sotiria was openly a lesbian in a time when this was practically unheard of.

Illness and death

Although she was particularly admired by artists, critics, and the public, she was alone and ignored towards the end of her life. Only a handful of people supported her in the last stages of her year-long struggle with throat cancer with which she was diagnosed in 1993. She died in

on August 27, 1997 and she was buried according to her request in the

First Cemetery of Athens The First Cemetery of Athens ( el, Πρώτο Νεκροταφείο Αθηνών, ''Próto Nekrotafeío Athinón'') is the official cemetery of the City of Athens and the first to be built. It opened in 1837 and soon became a prestigious ceme ...

next to

Legacy

Her talent has attracted many celebrities and she had many famous fans. Among them was the famous Greek painter

Yannis Tsarouchis Yannis Tsarouchis ( el, Γιάννης Τσαρούχης; 13 January 1910 – 20 July 1989) was a Greek modernist painter and set designer who achieved international fame, and was "known in particular for his homoerotic subjects," including so ...

who would burst into tears each time he listened to her singing. Paradoxically, the government never honoured her during her lifetime, perhaps due to her controversial personality. Only after her death was she regarded significantly. Her biography was published in 1998 under the title "Sotiria Bellou – Pote dortia pote exares". The author of the biography also wrote a theatrical play by the title "Sotiria me lene", a production sponsored in 2008 by the

Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation The Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation ( el, Ελληνική Ραδιοφωνία Τηλεόραση AE, Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi SA) or ERT () is the state-owned public radio and television broadcaster of Greece. History Overview ERT b ...

(ERT) and starring Lida Protopsalti.

Notes and references

External links

Biography of Sotiria Bellou
(in Greek)
Official Biography from Music Heaven Recording Company
(in Greek) * * * http://www.ellines.com/en/specials/myths/14553-h-teleutaia-rempetissa/ The last of the Rebetiko singers – Ellines.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Bellou, Sotiria 1921 births 1997 deaths 20th-century Greek women singers Greek rebetiko singers Greek Resistance members Lesbian musicians Greek LGBT singers Greek communists People from Euboea (regional unit) Burials at the First Cemetery of Athens Deaths from cancer in Greece Deaths from throat cancer 20th-century LGBT people