Kanaropoulou Marika

Marika Kanaropoulou sang Aman like no other. Far less prolific than either Roza Eskinazi or Rita Abadzi, Marika Kanaropoulou’s αμανέδες (a-man-EH-des) convey a lost innocence. Perhaps it is because her voice possesses an almost adolescent quality. At the same time, Kanaropoulou’s vocal skills were anything but adolescent. Her control and mastery of the art of makam, her unique style, and her thick, rich vowels rank her as one of the top female singers of Rembetika, despite the fact that she recorded far less than others. Very little is known about Marika Kanaropoulou. Kanaropoulou may in fact be a stage name, since it literally means “daughter of the canary” and may be a reference to the dulcid quality of her voice. It could also be a surname carried by a family with a long tradition of singing. It is quite possible that Kanaropoulou came from a musical family.Also known as “Tourkalitsa” (the little Turkish girl) and “Brousalia” (the girl from Brousa), Kanaropoulou was a native of Bursa (Brousa in Greek), located in western Turkey not far from the southeast coast of the Sea of Marmara.