Saija Varjus (born 30 January 1965 in

Parkano Parkano is a List of towns in Finland, town and municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. It is located north of Tampere in the Pirkanmaa regions of Finland, region. The population of Parkano is () and the municipality covers an are ...

) is a Finnish popular musician. She was chosen the "

Tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries from a combination of Arge ...

Queen" 1996 in the

Tangomarkkinat The Tangomarkkinat is the world's oldest Finnish tango, tango festival. It is held early every July in Seinäjoki, Finland. As well as competitions to find the country's best tango singers, composers, and dancers, the festival features public dan ...

festival in

Seinäjoki Seinäjoki (; "Wall River"; , formerly ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of South Ostrobothnia. Seinäjoki is located in the western interior of the country and along the Seinäjoki (river), River Seinäjoki. The population of Sein ...

. This was her second attempt: she had competed in 1993 but only reached as far as the semifinal.

Biography

Varjus had previously worked as a

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

. Her most famous recordings include "Dam dam da da di dum" (1997), "Vastatuuleen" (1998), "Kuiskaten" (2002) and "Ihana aamu" (2002). In January 1998, Saija Varjus was diagnosed with

multiple sclerosis Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease resulting in damage to myelinthe insulating covers of nerve cellsin the brain and spinal cord. As a demyelinating disease, MS disrupts the nervous system's ability to Action potential, transmit ...

. On 13 October 2007, she married the guitarist Petri Hämäläinen.Saija Varjus naimisiin , Viihde , Iltalehti.fi
/ref>

Discography

* ''Saija Varjus'' (1997) * ''Yambaijaa'' (1998) * ''Tähtiin kirjoitettu'' (2000) * ''Parhaat'' (2001) * "Ihana aamu" (2002) * "Varjus" (2007)

Awards

* Tango Queen (1996)

References

Sources

* Marja Nyman, Tangokuninkaalliset, Revontuli 2002, * Tony Latva and Petri Tuunainen, Iskelmän tähtitaivas, WSOY 2004,

External links

Official fansite
1965 births Living people People from Parkano 21st-century Finnish women singers Finnish tango musicians 20th-century Finnish women singers {{Finland-singer-stub