Greek singer Giorgos Dalaras paid tribute to fellow singer Giorgos Mazonakis on the evening of Monday, September 14, hours after Mazonakis' funeral, calling him his "compatriot" from the Kokkinia district of Nikaia during a concert at the Kallimarmaro stadium in Athens.
The concert, held at the historic marble stadium, was dedicated to the Greek composer Manos Loizos. Footage of Dalaras' appearance, later broadcast on the television programme "Simera" (Today), showed him addressing the loss of Mazonakis directly.
Dalaras said the day had been one of particular emotion. He said he had seen with what interest and love the public had surrounded the young man who had died, Giorgakis, his compatriot from Kokkinia, using the affectionate diminutive for Mazonakis' first name.
Dalaras went on to refer to what he said lay behind the singer's death, saying it was bitter and vile, and that it needed to be discussed and looked into. He closed his remarks by wishing Mazonakis "kali tou ora," a traditional Greek farewell said of the dead.
Mazonakis' death and hospital transfer
Dalaras, one of Greece's best-known singers, has performed for decades across the popular and "entehno" song traditions. Mazonakis, also a leading figure in contemporary Greek popular music, grew up in the same Nikaia area of Piraeus as Dalaras, in the Kokkinia district.
Mazonakis died on Wednesday, September 9, at the age of 54, after suffering a cardiac arrest. He had been at the private Stem Cell clinic in the Athens district of Kolonaki, where he had gone for a plasmapheresis session. After the cardiac arrest, he was transferred to Elpis Hospital, where his death was confirmed.
Funeral and public wake in Nikaia
Mazonakis' funeral took place on Monday, September 14, at the Holy Church of Agia Triada in Nikaia, with burial afterward at the Third Cemetery of Athens. The day before the funeral, a public wake was held, with relatives, friends and fans gathering to say a final goodbye to the singer.
Dalaras' remarks came shortly after those funeral events, as tributes to Mazonakis continued to pour in from across the Greek music world.
