{"id":123754,"date":"2022-08-09T16:10:29","date_gmt":"2022-08-09T13:10:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.nli.org.il\/?p=123754"},"modified":"2024-01-25T12:39:18","modified_gmt":"2024-01-25T10:39:18","slug":"lbh-msika","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blognli2026.moonsite.co.il\/en\/lbh-msika\/","title":{"rendered":"The Daring Life and Tragic Death of Tunisia’s Jewish Pop Sensation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tunisian singer and actor Habiba Msika\u00a0was a legendary figure in Tunis\u2019s 1920s art scene. Msika\u2019s bold nonconformity and tragic fate resonated deeply with her contemporaries, and fascinate me now: I marvel at how she subverted the patriarchy of her time, though violence born of that very misogyny would one day kill her.<\/p>\n

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The El-Grana marketplace in Tunia, ca. 1900 (Publisher: L\u00e9vy & Fils). From The Joseph and Margit Hoffman Judaica Postcard Collection, part of the National Library of Israel Digital Collection<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Born in 1899 or 1900 to a family of musicians living in Tunis\u2019s\u00a0hara<\/em>\u00a0(or Jewish quarter), Msika began her musical training at a young age. She was instructed by her aunt, Leila Sfez, who had herself been a diva and cabaret owner. Under Sfez\u2019s tutelage, Msika learned classical Andalusian music (Maalouf<\/em>) and oud. But it was as a cabaret singer, dancer, and actor that she would become something like the Madonna of her time.<\/p>\n

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A rebellious soul, Msika crossed boundaries in all that she did: she insisted on playing male roles in her theatrical career (sensing they\u2019d give more range to her talent), and is said to have been the first singer in the country to mix dance and song, a practice that electrified her performances. Despite furious attacks from the conservative press, she sang dozens of songs reveling in the pleasures of free love. The song \u201cAla Srir Ennoum<\/a>,\u201d which translates to \u201cIn My Bed,\u201d is one of them.<\/p>\n