Afifa Iskandar Estefan (, 10 December 1921 in

Mosul Mosul ( ; , , ; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. It is the second largest city in Iraq overall after the capital Baghdad. Situated on the banks of Tigris, the city encloses the ruins of the ...

, Iraq - 21 October 2012) was an Iraqi singer active from the mid-1930s to the first decade of the 21st century. She was considered one of the best female singers in Iraqi history. She was nicknamed the "Iraqi Blackbird".

Biography

Afifa Iskandar was born in Mosul to an

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

father and a

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

mother. She lived in

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

, and started singing at the age of 5. At her first party in 1935, she sang Al maqam. At the age of 12, she married an Armenian man named Iskandar Estefan and took his last name. She also worked as an actress and appeared in many productions. In 1938, she traveled to

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

to work with

Badia Masabni Badia Masabni (, born ''Wadiha Masabni'' (; 1 February 1892 – 23 July 1974) was a belly dancer, singer, actress, night club owner and businesswoman considered as the developer of modern belly dancing, by bringing the Western and Hollywood-esqu ...

Taheyya Kariokka Taheyya Kariokka () also Tahiya Carioca (born Badaweya Taheyya Mohamed Ali Elnedany Kareem ()), (February 22, 1915 – September 20, 1999) was an Egyptian belly dancer and film actress. Early life Born in the Egyptian city of Ismaïlia to ...

, and

Mohamed Abdel Wahab Mohamed Abdel Wahab (), also transliterated ''Mehammad Abdelwehab'', (March 13, 1902 – May 4, 1991), was a prominent 20th-century Egyptian singer, actor, and composer. He is best known for his Romantic and Egyptian patriotic songs. He wa ...

. She died of cancer on 21 October 2012 in Baghdad.

Tribute

On 10 December 2019,

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celebrated her 98th birthday with a

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Singles

Iskandr sang nearly 1500 songs. These include: * "Ya aqqid alhajibayn" * "Ikhlas meni" * "Ya sokari ya assali" * "Ared Allah yebain hobty behom" * "Qaleb qaleb'" * "Jani alhlo labs sobhyat aledd" * "Nem wa sadek sadri" * "Msafren" * "Qsma" * "Helal eid"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iskandar, Afifa 1921 births 2012 deaths People from Mosul 20th-century Iraqi women singers Iraqi writers Iraqi people of Armenian descent Iraqi Christians Iraqi people of Greek descent Musicians from Baghdad Iraqi expatriates in Egypt