Salim Halali

Salim Halali (or Hilali; ; born Simon Halali; 30 July 1920 – 25 June 2005) was an Algerian singer who performed Algerian music and Arabic Andalusian classical music. He was a pop singer rather than a professional performer of traditional Arab-Andalusian music, in which he had no formal training. Many of his songs remain popular in North Africa and among Jewish and Muslim North African communities in France, where he is "an iconic figure of French-Arab cabaret music."

Early life Salim Halali was born on 30 July 1920, in Bône, which is now known by its historic name, Annaba , to a family originally from Souk Ahras. His father was of Turkish origin and his mother was of Judeo-Berber origin. and reached Paris in 1937 where he became successful as a singer in Parisian flamenco clubs, and met the Algierian music hall artist , who wrote Halali's first songs, including "Andaloussia", "Sevillane", "Taali", "Ardjaâ lebladek", "Bine el barah el youm wa", "Mounira" (the name of one of his sisters), "Nadira", "Ouchq el saheb", and "El qelb chahik". In later years, Mohand Iguerbouchène composed fifty songs for him. In 1938, Halali toured Europe and his flamenco records in Arabic became successful in North Africa. Among his other successes are "Al ain zarga" (The Blue Eyes), "Mahenni zine" (The beauty disturbed me), "Habibti samra" (My beloved has dark skin) and "Allala illali".

During the German occupation of France, Si Kaddour Benghabrit, the founder and first rector of the Great Mosque of Paris, managed to hide Halali's Jewish roots by providing him with a false birth certificate as a Muslim and etching the name of his late father on a tombstone at an unmarked grave in a Muslim cemetery Bobigny (Seine-Saint-Denis). Halali used to perform at the mosque's Moorish café alongside such artists as Ali Sriti and Ibrahim Salah. After the war, he renewed his successful performing career and earned the admiration of the Egyptian diva Umm Kulthum.

In 1947, Halali created a Middle Eastern cabaret, Folies Ismailia, in a Paris hotel that belonged to Ferdinand de Lesseps, located on the Avenue Montaigne in one of the city's best neighborhoods. In 1948, he created a second cabaret club, The Serail, on the .

In 1949, he moved to Morocco, bought an old café in Maârif, the cosmopolitan quarter of Casablanca, and transformed it into a prestigious cabaret. It was frequented by wealthy Moroccans and visiting dignitaries, including King Farouk of Egypt, and it was where Haja El Hamdaouia sang. From 1950, he formed a duo with the Moroccan Haim Botbol, covering a number of Maghrebi classics. After was destroyed in a fire, Salim returned to France.

He lived in Cannes in the early 1960s. In the late 1960s, he recorded a version of "My Yiddishe Momme", a 1925 American vaudeville hit, in Arabic. He later gave additional concerts in Paris, Montreal, and Casablanca. Though still successful, Halali decided to retire to Cannes, where he was known for hosting lavish parties at his villa, which had an Arabian nights decor like his cabarets, and a garden with two pet tigers. living with his partner Pierre as early as 1949. In accordance with his last wishes, his ashes were scattered in the garden of remembrance at the crematorium in Nice.

In popular culture Salim Halali is depicted as one of the principal characters in the film Free Men, directed by Ismaël Ferroukhi, released in 2011. He is played by Mahmoud Shalaby, an Israeli Palestinian who learned French to play the role.