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!!!!