Aram Tigran

Aram Tigran (1934-2009), born in Qamişlo to an Armenian family that had survived 1915 among Kurds, chose Kurdish as the language of his art and became one of its most beloved voices. Over half a century he recorded hundreds of songs, among them the version of Ay Dîlberê that most people know, singing with a warmth and a smile that made him family in every Kurdish home. He often said he was the son of two peoples; at his death, mourners across Kurdistan and Armenia claimed him as their own.