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« I used to go with my family to a place in the "Palia" neighborhood. […] It’s a music club. It’s like a cafe but bigger and we can listen to our own music […] And I’ve been there many times. Since everyone there is Albanian. And the people playing in the band were also Albanians. Whoever wanted to sing would sing. And somebody might win a bicycle. It was arranged very nicely. I felt like I was in my own country, you know! This is good for us. It’s a very nice kind of entertainment for us. You feel like you’re in your country. We all spoke our language. And somebody stood up and said: "Anyone who can dance [should come to the stage]. Who can dance better? Who can sing better?" [You could sing] any song you liked, either in Albanian, or in Greek, or in any other country’s language. And there was a jury of three or four persons who would judge your performance. »
« We didn’t know the "zeimbekiko" dance. I saw it once here [in Greece] and I started dancing it. I think that I may have, no, I certainly have Greek blood. This is what everybody has told me […] And everybody has told me "You dance like us! Even Greek people don’t dance like that!" It’s in me! I can’t help it. That’s how I am! »
Performing identities
