I was lucky enough to come across a number of 1960s postcards about five years ago when a small stationary-tobacco store in the main square of Meligalas was getting ready to be razed and the proprietor was literally giving away what was left of the goods. This is one of my favorites and shows the two giants of rembetika, Markos Vamvakaris and Vassilis Tsitsanis, playing alongside the god of music himself, Apollo--what a smashing trio!
I love it, not to mention this bit from the Wiki article about Markos Vamvakaris: “He heard a bouzouki player playing, and swore that if he did not learn to play the instrument in six months he would cut off his hand with a cleaver (he was working in the Athens slaughterhouse at the time).” Selling your soul at the crossroads sounds tame in comparison.
ReplyDeleteYep,passion,my boy--remind you of another Greek made world-famous by a certain writer from Crete?
ReplyDeleteYes, it must be the Zorba syndrome. But now that I think about it, once you cut off your hand, it gets a lot harder to cut of the other. That’s where real determination comes in.
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