This musical genre was born at the beginning of the 20th century, mainly by refugees from the Asia Minor Catastrophe of 1922. It developed in the ports and slums, expressing the pain, love and daily difficulties of the marginalized. During the 1930s, rebetiko experienced its “Golden Age”.
Major artists include:

Markos Vamvakaris, the “patriarch” of rebetiko
Vassilis Tsitsanis, who modernized the genre
Rosa Eskenazy, the first great female voice
Sotiria Bellou, with her characteristic husky voice

Despite efforts to censor the genre, rebetiko survived and was eventually recognized as a valuable cultural heritage of Greece.