Igor Deyneko (20 years) Boston
I discovered Dalida in 2000 when i saw a Russian drag-queen show and one of the female impersonators did a cover of my personal favorite "Je Suis Malade". I was mesmorized by the notorious pink robe and the short black outfit. That image haunted me for a long time. Little by little i started gaining more knowedge on that true Diva. With time I realized that almost every song she has sung was about tragic love and solitude, something that us so understandable and close to me. When I hear her songs like "Pour Ne Pas Vivre Seul" and "Lucas" and I just feel that she is not singing about her life, she is telling the eternal truth about life in general. For me she is The Only Star. I understand why she left us so early she was too lonely to stay alive, she will always stay young and vivacious in our memories. That's what made her a legend, her tragic life filled with love for others. Recently when I visited her grave at Cimetiere du Montmartre, and saw her divine tomb a strange premonition came over me, no she has not left us her soul is still there living in her favorite Montmartre. An italian couple in their fifties saw me with a bouqet of white roses and though I was Italian and were very surprized to find out that Russians loved and adored that phenominal Diva. Dalida, siempre viva!!!!
Al Gonzalez (48 years) Brooklyn, NY
I discovered Dalida when I was a teen in the 70's. I feel in love with her voice, songs and her personality. Today after many years of being gone I still listening to her music as a tribute to such an unique voice and talent.
Lena Borisova (40 years) Smolensk, Russia/ Waco, TX, U.S.A.
Dalida and me... My story has two chapters. In a sense, I have known Dalida since the 70s, since my early youth. But it is also true that I have just rediscovered her. I remember in the 70s and 80s they often showed her on tv in Russia (at that time the former Soviet Union), and I as a girl, not knowing a word in French, liked watching how beautifully she sang and danced. Then I remember how unthinkable May 1987 was... Afterwards, life led me away from French chanson. And here I am, living in the U.S., already 40. Last summer I was taking a class "French for Reading Knowledge," and decided to try my new skills and see whether I could understand the songs I had liked as a teen. When I heard Dali, it was both recognition and revelation. Only now, having learned to understand French and having acquired 40 years of life experience was I able to truly understand and appreciate all the depth and immensity, power and subtlety of her talent both of a singer and of a dramatic actress. I have been mesmerized with her ability to communicate with her voice superfine vibrations of emotion, and draw one into her aura, with her iconographic beauty and impeccable taste that every woman would want to imitate, but none ever will. Because of her artistic intuition she managed to do something that no one ever could. When non-Russians sing Russian songs or make movies about Russian, as a rule, it sounds fake: it comes out either as superficial, or overloaded with ethnic flavor, or even as a mockery, but never right. With Dali it is different. In her songs related to Russia ("Les temps des fleurs," "L'amour qui venait du froid," "Le temps d'aimer," and "Spiel Balalaïka") she was the only one, who, not being Russian herself, was able to grasp and express that elusive Russianness that is called "the Russian soul"... How do I know? When I listen to these songs, they make me homesick... After so many years, Dali has reentered my life, filled it up, transformed and enriched it in so many very tangible ways. Because of her, Dostoyevsky's maxim, "Beauty will save the world," has become full of meaning. Beauty has a force that is not subject to death, and it is not a lifeless cliché or wishful thinking. I know, know inside, that beauty will save the world, because every day it saves a small part of this world – me. Every day Dali saves me with her songs: saves from loneliness and despair, from dreariness and futility, from cold and unbelief ... She has helped me to reconnect with something really real in the world and in myself that I thought I had lost. And I am forever thankful to her. Dear Dali, thank you, thank you...
Hasmig Aznavour (50 years) - Santa Clarita, CA
First let me thank you for the fabulous site you have created for such an ICON and DIVA!! I grew up listening to Dalida's songs (amongst others), hers truly stands out. RIP Dalida, you are truly missed.
Claudio Ghattas (45 years) - Jupiter/FLorida
I first heard Dalida when I was 12 years old.I have been hooked ever since.I would have loved to meet her.I can listen to her music forever and never get tired of it.In 2006 I visited her gravesite at Cimetiere du Montmartre.It was with great sadness since I realizied I would never get to see her sing.The gravesite is beautiful and hauting at the same time.The statue of Dalida with all the flowers around it was very moving.Thank you for the wonderful website.