Habiba Msika, also spelled Messika (حبيبة مسيكة), (born 1903 Testour – February 21, 1930 Tunis), was a Tunisian singer, dancer and actress. Born Marguerite Msika, she was the niece of singer

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. She quickly climbed the ladder of fame under the pseudonym Habiba ("beloved"). Prototype of the free, and master of her destiny, charismatic singer and daring actress, adored by the Tunisian population, Msika was a social phenomenon in her time. The film ''The Fire Dance'' by

Salma Baccar Selma Baccar or Salma Baccar (born December 15, 1945) is a Tunisian filmmaker, producer and politician. She is considered the first woman to make a featured length film in Tunis.Stefanie van de Peer, 'An encounter with the doyenne of Tunisian film ...

talks about her career.

Life

Youth

She was born in the Jewish quarter of Tunis in a poor family. Her parents, Daida and Maïha, worked in the wire trade. She learned to read and write in the school of the Israelite Alliance, which she left after seven years, through the help of her aunt, singing lessons, music theory and classical Arabic with the famous composer

Khemaïs Tarnane Khemaïs Tarnane () (born Juli 1 1894 in Bizerte and died October 31, 1964) was a Tunisian singer, composer and musician. Born Khemaïs Ben Ali Ben Khemaïs Tarnane. Tarnane is one of the founders and teachers of the Rachidia. Biography Khem ...

and Egyptian tenor Hassan Bannan. She married her cousin Victor Chetboun but their union lasted a short time. Her first recital was held at the palace of

La Marsa La Marsa ( ') is a coastal city located in the northeastern part of Tunisia, situated along the Mediterranean Sea. It is part of the Tunis Governorate and has a population of around 100,000 people. The city is known for its beaches, upscale resid ...

, where she met her lover: the Ministry of the Pen.

Career

In 1920 her career took off; she became a sex symbol and initiated the phenomenon of "soldiers of the night", the nickname for her fans, mostly young dandies of Tunisia. It was at this time that she went with her lover to Paris, where through him she met

Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

and

Coco Chanel Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel ( , ; 19 August 1883 – 10 January 1971) was a French fashion designer and Businessperson, businesswoman. The founder and namesake of the Chanel brand, she was credited in the post-World War I era with populari ...

. In March 1925, she interpreted Romeo in ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

'' at the Ben Kamla theatre.

Death

On the morning of February 20, 1930, an obsessive fan, an older man named Eliyahu Mimouni entered her apartment in Alfred Durand-Claye street in Tunis and set her on fire. Badly burned, she died the next day, followed soon after by Mimouni. Msika is buried in the cemetery of Borgel in Tunis. Borgel cemetery 15052018 002

References

Sources

* * *

External links

10 taboo Arabic songs: Habiba Msika
{{DEFAULTSORT:Msika, Habiba Tunisian stage actresses 1903 births 1930 deaths 20th-century Tunisian actresses 20th-century Tunisian women singers Tunisian murder victims People murdered in Tunisia Deaths from fire People from Béja Governorate