Thursday, December 07, 2017

December Songs 7 (2017)

Sometimes my favorite December songs are ones that are brand new to me. This morning while I was perusing Facebook I came upon a post from a childhood friend. Olga lived next door to my papou in Nicosia, Cyprus. I left Cyprus when I was four, but visited throughout my childhood, and Olga's would be the first door I'd knock on after arriving at my grandfather's. We would play into dusk, and I have so many fond memories with my dear friend, into adulthood.

This morning Olga posted an article about her son, Silvio Rusmigo, who is a remarkable photographer. I was perusing his website and came across a music video he made. It's a great song, and cool video. And it's the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the arts in Cyprus. It's a small island that churns out some amazing visual and performing artists. Not surprising for a country that is so ancient and rich in culture.

For those of you who don't know, Cyprus is a divided island, the north side occupied by Turkey since 1974. We were visiting and left just days before the coup that kicked off a brutal war that lead to thousands of displaced people and decades of occupation. You can see some documentaries, The Cyprus Problem, Still Divided (my uncle, Alex Efthyvoulous, a correspondent, appears around 22:31) and Attila 74, Rape of Cyprus, made by Michael Cacoyannis, my mother's second cousin.

But back to the topic at hand. Here is Black Anis from Cyprus, filmed by the talented son of a dear friend!


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