On Sunday, August 25th, 2024, the show “Our Town” was dedicated to Leonidas Kyrkos. The program featured discussions by director Manos Zacharias and poet Titos Patrikios about Kyrkos, a leading figure of the Left and a pioneering fighter in social struggles. They reflected on Kyrkos as a fighter, a man, and a friend who fought many battles for the political life of the country and for the ideals of democracy, freedom, and social justice.
Actress Kariophylia Karabeti read the farewell speech of Kyrkos, delivered by his son Miltos at his funeral. Actor Stelios Mainas read Manolis Glezos’ emotional farewell to Kyrkos, whom he called “Liontas” (Lion): “They say you’ve gone, Liontas, but you remain standing tall in the passage of history, a rebel of ELAS, a fighter for freedom, independence, and social justice…”
The program also included a reference to Mikis Theodorakis’ words, stating that Leonidas Kyrkos inseparably connected his life with the struggles of the Greek people for freedom, democracy, and progress, from the period of the National Resistance to the present day. He served the ideals of the Greek Left with unwavering faith, paying a heavy price for defending the rights of our people.
Giannis Meimaroglou discussed the post-junta opportunity to realize the “Nation’s Goals” (a text by L.K. that represented a lost chance for a different Greece). There was mention of significant cultural figures who valued and loved Leonidas Kyrkos as a pioneering fighter and politician, some of whom were also close friends.
Notable names include Grigoris Lambrakis, Manos Hadjidakis, Miltos Anagnostakis, Alki Zei, Angelaki-Rouk, Manos Eleftheriou, Loukianos Kilaidonis, Arleta, Menis Koumantareas, Dionysis Savvopoulos, Nikos Mavroudis, and brothers Haris and Panos Katsimihas, among many others. The program also featured Kyrkos’ voice from “Café Performance,” where he reminisces about personal moments with M. Hadjidakis and their deep friendship and mutual respect.
This episode presented unique documents and rare material about this exceptional figure, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the fall of the dictatorship. Kyrkos passed away in late August 2011.
Produced and presented by Themis Rodamitis