tagged: 1940, Greek Italian war, ioannis metaxas, october 28, Ohi Anniversary, Sofia Vempo

Sofia Vempo, October 28/1940 & Me (Greek music videos)

Posted by keeptalkinggreece in Very Mix

When I was young, I hated her. I always associated her with the dictatorship, the Colonel’s Junta. Then I grew up during those times. I wasn’t perfectly wrong about her but for sure I was mistaken as well. Her name was Sofia Vempo (1910-1978). 

At school they used to play her patriotic songs at every October 28th, one of our National Days.  28the October 1940, is remembered and celebrated as the day, when “proud Greeks said a thundering No (OHI) to Italian Moussolini” as schoolkids usued to learn.

In fact it was another dictator, Ioannis  Metaxas,  who said the proud “OHI” to Italians, when Mussolini demanded the surrender of Greece as part of the Axis forces attempting to occupy the Balkans. As Metaxas was a Germanophile and a monarchist , but the then King was Anglophile, Metaxas’ motives for his NO were questionable. No matter how resonant Metaxas’ No was, the Italians invaded Greece from Albania, starting the Greco-Italian war. 

And here enter the scene Sofia Vempo with her patriotic and satirical songs during the war, comforting and inspiring  Greek soldiers fighting against Italians in the snowy mountains of Albania. 

Παιδιά, της Ελλάδος Παιδιά -Children, Children of Greece (English Subtitles)

I remember Sofia Vempo always appearing in folklore clothes, with her hair covered up. At school we used to hear her songs for days! They would go parallel to the National Anthem. For me personally and taking into consideration the democratic-left roots of my family Sofia Vempo was an integral part of the Junta propaganda, promoting the Colonels’ doctrine: Homeland-Religion-Family. I was against it with every inch of my whole being! Then I was for the Beatles and  wide, wide world!

 Βάζει ο Ντούτσε τη στολή του – Duce puts his uniform on (Εnglish Subtitles)

For some decades I had forgotten all about Sofia Vempo and her patriotic tralala. Then for me she was a glorificator of dictators. No, I wasn’t completely wrong. Politically she was conservative right, always close to the army that bred the dictators.  I was tought that you don’t need to be a dictator to be a patriot!

I saw her  a couple of years ago on TV showing a movie film from 1955, Laterna, Ftohia & Filotimo. And there she was, the artistac-horror of my youth… Sofia Vempo smiling, dressed in normal clothes. Almost sexy with her summer dress, and the braces falling playful off her shoulders. That was another Vempo. Not the patriotic monument but a woman with flesh and blood. Then I thought, maybe she wasn’t as bad as I thought…

Το Φεγγάρι είναι κόκκινο – The Moon is Red

Translation: The moon is red, the river is blue and my love in your hands is a brightly white bird. The moon is green, the river is deep, come on my love and dance until tomorrow morning. The moon fell into  the deep river and my love turned yellow like a flame of a candle, come on my love and dance until tomorrow morning.

Read about Sofia Vempo’s English Biography in wikipedia