Greek singers Giorgos Dalaras, Stamatis Gonidis and Antypas have publicly expressed their sorrow over the death of fellow singer Giorgos Mazonakis, bidding farewell in personal social media posts to an artist whose long career in Greek music had crossed paths with all three of them.
The tone of the three tributes differed. Dalaras focused on Mazonakis's struggles from his earliest steps in the industry and on the two men's shared roots in Nikaia, while Gonidis and Antypas chose more personal words to say goodbye to their friend and colleague.
Dalaras recalls Mazonakis's early struggles
Dalaras wrote about the path Mazonakis had to walk from a very young age, describing the character of the man he had come to know. He described him as a child of the night, good and gentle, who fought from a young age to find his way, using his own strength and facing his own worries as best he knew how.
Dalaras also singled out the two men's shared hometown of Nikaia, a working class district west of Piraeus, describing Mazonakis as a folk boy from their neighbourhood, decent and sensitive. He closed his tribute by wishing his fellow singer a good journey and addressing him warmly as his boy.
Gonidis: a bitter coffee and a short goodbye
Gonidis needed only a few words to capture his reaction to the news. In a post on Facebook, he wrote that he had drunk a bitter coffee that day, and said, in disbelief, that he could not accept that Giorgos was gone and that he would miss his friend. He asked that God grant rest to his soul and offered his condolences to Mazonakis's family.
The two singers had worked together professionally since the late 1990s. During the 1998 to 1999 season they shared the stage at the Rex venue in Athens, at a time when Mazonakis had already established his presence on the laiko, or Greek popular music, scene.
Their moments together on stage were not limited to that collaboration. In the years that followed, there were occasions when one would visit the venue where the other was performing, and the night would end with them spontaneously appearing together on stage.
Antypas: 'always smiling'
Antypas chose a deeply personal tone to say goodbye to Mazonakis, expressing his difficulty in believing how suddenly his friend and colleague had died. In his post, he described Mazonakis as his good boy, called his death unexpected and sudden, and said there were no honest words for it. He said they would remember him as always smiling and wished him a good journey.
Antypas chose to keep Mazonakis's smile as his lasting image of him, adding his voice to the wave of tributes from figures in Greek music following news of the singer's death.
