The Hellenic Society of Maine and the Jewish Community Alliance present “My Sweet Canary”, a documentary about Roza Eskenazi, at the Jewish Community Alliance, 1342 Congress St., Portland, ME.
FREE - ADVANCED REGISTRATION REQUIRED (See link below)
https://www.mainejewish.org/communitycalendar
Roza Eskenazi sang the way she lived, with passion, fire, and love. In Greece and Turkey, Roza is the most famous singer of the 1930’s, the “diva” of Rebetiko music. This film tells the story of her life, of a world which no longer exists. Brought together by their love of her music, three of today’s musicians go in search of Eskenazi’s heirs and her musical, multicultural heritage. Director Roy Sher is a producer and director. Born in 1977 in Haifa (Israel), he studied film and television at the University of Tel Aviv.
Holocaust historian Anna Wrobel will provide historical context, and musician Jim Donnelly will comment on the various musical styles.
Rosa Eskenazi (1883-1980) was a famous Jewish-Greek singer of Rebetiko, Greek folk music, Kanto, and Turkish folk music. Eskenazi was born Sarah Skinazi to an impoverished Sephardic Jewish family in Istanbul. From there, they moved to Athens to pursue her musical career. Rembetiko remains one of the most popular genres of Greek music. After the Asia Minor disaster, the Greeks that found themselves exiled from their own homes sang of their sorrows and pain while adjusting to life in Greece. These were stories of everyday men and women, the world of the underground, and life in the city slums; yet their music brought them dignity and gave them a voice.
During the Axis occupation of Greece, she had her own nightclub, Krystal, together with her son Paraschos. Although she was a Jew, she had managed to obtain a fake baptismal certificate. She had an affair with a Nazi officer, but she supported the local resistance and hid resistance fighters and even British agents in her home. She was also able to rescue Jews in both Athens and Thessaloniki. Among those she saved from deportation to Auschwitz was her own family. By 1943, her cover finally crumbled, and Eskenazi was arrested. She spent three months in jail before a concerted effort by her German lover and her son succeeded in getting her released. She spent the rest of the war in hiding.
Admission is FREE.
NOTE: ADVANCE REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED to attend this event.