The program hosted researcher and sociologist Dimitris Kourtis, who spoke with Natasa Vissarionos and Eleni Kostaki about his book-study “Let’s Go to Honolulu. Kostas Bezos 1905–1943”, published by Aiolos. The work is the result of ten years of study and research on Kostas Bezos – “whom some knew as the rebetiko musician ‘Kostis,’ others as a composer of light music, and still others, on hearing the name Kostas Bezos, recall one of the most important cartoonists of the 1930s,” as Kourtis notes.
He spoke about Kostas Bezos and his band Aspra Poulia (“White Birds”), which earned a devoted following with their “Havayias”—a Hawaiian-style music that was immensely popular in the interwar years. Bezos was a multifaceted artistic figure: cartoonist, poet, composer, guitarist, singer, actor, revue writer, and prose author. In all these fields he showed refined taste, wit, and often recognized talent. But above all, he was one of the truest embodiments of the bohemian spirit: an incorrigible night owl, a reveler, warm-hearted—a big child who never cared what tomorrow might bring. As Kostas Varnalis wrote upon his death from tuberculosis, he was beloved by everyone and sought after in every circle.
Kourtis took listeners on a journey through interwar Athens, presenting his book, which also includes rare recordings of Kostas Bezos’ songs along with valuable archival material- photographs, sketches, and writings.