The story of the 2025 Gabby Awards is entitled “Goddesses in our Midst,” during which we will recognize and honor the extraordinary lives of 20 contemporary goddesses from throughout North America. During the program, with film, song and theatrical elements, we will also pay tribute to a series of dynamic women who each in her own way, left her mark on the world. We are honored to have the support of longtime foundation supporter Evangelia a multi-platinum Greek-American recording artist, lead in our tribute to Sotiria Bellou on the night of June 7, 2025.
Sotiria Bellou was more than just a singer — she was a symbol of defiance, authenticity, and resilience. Her life was marked by struggle, rebellion, and an unyielding refusal to conform to the expectations of Greek society.
Through her haunting and emotive voice, Bellou not only reshaped the male-dominated world of rebetiko music but also broke through societal barriers related to gender, sexuality, and politics. Her career and life serve as a testament to the power of living authentically, even when the odds are stacked against you.
Sotiria Bellou was born on August 22, 1921, in Chalkida, a conservative town on the island of Evia, Greece. Raised in a traditional Greek Orthodox family, Bellou showed an early love for music and defiance toward social norms. At the age of 12, she convinced her grandfather to buy her a guitar — an unusual gift for a girl at the time.
Her defiance of societal norms began early and dramatically. At the age of 17, she entered into an arranged marriage. When her husband became physically abusive, Bellou retaliated by throwing acid in his face — an act that led to her imprisonment. This moment was a pivotal one in her life. It marked the beginning of her rejection of the conventional life expected of Greek women: submissive, obedient, and confined to domestic roles.
After her release from prison, Bellou left Chalkida and fled to Athens — a city ravaged by Nazi occupation but alive with the underground music of rebetiko. She arrived with little more than her guitar and a burning desire for independence.
In post-war Greece, rebetiko — a form of Greek urban blues — was considered the music of the marginalized. Originating among refugees and working-class communities, rebetiko told stories of exile, poverty, drug use, and heartbreak. It was largely a male-dominated genre, performed in smoky taverns and underground hashish dens.
Bellou’s big break came in 1947 when she was discovered by Vassilis Tsitsanis, one of the most influential rebetiko composers. Tsitsanis was impressed by her deep, gravelly voice and her ability to convey raw emotion. He invited her to sing at the famous tavern Tzitzifies in Athens.
Her arrival on the rebetiko scene was groundbreaking. Bellou’s androgynous appearance — short hair, masculine suits, and cigarettes in hand — contrasted sharply with the hyper-feminine expectations of Greek female performers. Her unapologetic presence on stage immediately set her apart. She wasn’t trying to seduce the audience; she was commanding their respect.
Bellou’s collaboration with Tsitsanis produced some of the most iconic rebetiko songs, including “Synnefiasmeni Kyriaki” (Cloudy Sunday) — a melancholic anthem of love and despair that became one of the defining pieces of Greek music.
Bellou was not just a musical trailblazer; she was also a political and social revolutionary.
She openly supported the Greek left during the Greek Civil War (1946–1949). Her political affiliations led to her imprisonment and brutal beatings at the hands of the right-wing government. Even when this affected her career and opportunities, she refused to renounce her beliefs.
Bellou’s political activism was deeply personal. Rebetiko itself was viewed with suspicion by the Greek state — linked to the rebellious working class and the political left. By singing rebetiko songs, Bellou aligned herself with the social underdogs of Greece: the poor, the dispossessed, and the politically marginalized.
Her refusal to hide her sexuality also made her a target. Bellou was openly lesbian in a deeply conservative society when being gay was not only taboo but dangerous. She openly drank and smoked, even on stage.
As Greek society modernized in the 1960s, rebetiko music fell out of favor. Bellou’s uncompromising nature made her an outcast even within the music industry. She refused to adapt to the more polished sound of contemporary Greek pop music.
By the early 1970s, she was living in near poverty, pawning her guitar and belongings to survive. But Bellou’s story didn’t end there. The rebetiko revival of the late 1970s, fueled by leftist student movements and a growing sense of nostalgia for working-class authenticity, brought her back into the spotlight.
In a career spanning decades, she recorded dozens of records with some of the top composers of the time– songs that have endured the test of time and have become part of Greece’s permanent musical heritage.
But it wasn’t until 1971 when she recorded the song that would define her entire career and become something like an anthem to an entire generation of Greeks who were living under a brutal military dictatorship.
“Me Aeroplana kai Vaporia” (With Airplanes and Boats) was written by Dionysis Savvopoulos in 1971, a time when freedom of speech, artistic expression, and political dissent were brutally oppressed by the military government. Rebetiko music itself had been censored by the regime because of its association with the working class and leftist movements.
Bellou’s decision to record and perform this song was a bold political statement. Her career had already suffered because of her politics. By performing “Μ’ Αεροπλάνα και Βαπόρια,” she aligned herself with the resistance movement and gave voice to the silenced working class.
The song’s coded language allowed it to evade direct censorship while delivering a powerful critique of the regime. Bellou’s haunting, raw delivery underscored the pain and longing embedded in the lyrics, making it a quiet anthem of political defiance.
The song became a symbol of resistance and hope for freedom during the dictatorship. After the junta fell in 1974, the song took on new life as a tribute to those who had fought and suffered under the regime.
Bellou’s performance remains iconic not just because of her vocal power, but because of the social weight behind it. Her life — as a political dissident, an openly lesbian woman, and a working-class symbol — gave the song even deeper resonance.
Even today, the song is performed at political rallies and cultural events, maintaining its place as a reminder of Greece’s struggle for freedom and the enduring power of artistic expression.
“Μ’ Αεροπλάνα και Βαπόρια” is ultimately a song about seeking refuge — from political oppression, personal demons, and societal constraints. Through it, Sotiria Bellou cemented her status not just as a singer, but as a voice for Greece’s marginalized and rebellious spirit.
Sotiria Bellou died on August 27, 1997, at the age of 76, at the Metaxas Hospital in Piraeus after a long battle with cancer. The Greek government never honored her during her lifetime. Only after her death was she widely recognized for her cultural contribution.
Her voice continues to echo through Greece’s musical legacy. She is remembered not only as a powerful interpreter of rebetiko but also as a figure of resilience who refused to compromise her identity or beliefs.
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Evangelia is a Greek-American artist born in the US, and raised between the island of Crete and New Jersey. Known for her effortless blend of modern pop music with Greek elements, she has captivated sold-out audiences around the world. With multi-platinum hits in Greece, a recent signing to Epic Records in the US, and a die-hard international social media following, Evangelia continues to honor her heritage through her artistry while forging her own legacy. Read more here.
