I first heard her enchanting voice in 2016 when I saw one of those touring Cirque Du Soleil shows in New York City. Although it was a single night of awe for me, it was a single stop of a rigorous 3-year tour of North America that a young girl from Crete had auditioned for– and got a major part, selected from thousands of global candidates vying to be a part of this prestigious touring company.

Her voice was enchanting. After the show I went backstage and the connection was immediate. We had many things in common and could have spoken for hours. Our mutual love of rebetika and music from Asia Minor, our Cretan background. She being from Heraklion and my parents from Chania, we poked fun at each other– perpetuating the age-old rivalry on the island between the two cities.

Fast forward to today, a mere 8 years after her Cirque performance in New York City. 

The Big Apple is now her home and her list of accomplishments reads like that of an aging singer, basking in the success at the end of her illustrious career.

But remember. Erini is only 33 years old. And she’s only been in the United States for ten years.

She became a part time assistant professor at Berklee College of Music and sang the U.S. National Anthem at Major League Baseball and NBA and baseball games in Boston, Chicago and Washington DC. 

She offered her talents to non-profits and was awarded a 40 Under 40 award– one of the most prestigious distinctions in the Greek North American community, as well as several grants from various government and private funding agencies and foundations.

She sang at Carnegie Hall and represented Greece on live Chinese TV, sharing a traditional Greek song to millions of viewers.

Her list of accomplishments goes on and on and it’s mind boggling to understand how a young girl her age– and all alone in this country– could navigate the rough waters of big city America, end up on the most prestigious stages in the world– and all the while staying 100% true to the musical heritage and traditions of Greece.

Erini took a bold step a few  weeks ago and launched a GoFundMe campaign to ask her fans and supporters for a bit of financial assistance, specifically related to obtaining an  EB1 – Extraordinary Ability visa (Green Card) to allow her to stay in the United States. 

I’m sure some might be asking under their breath… Why should I help her get her visa? Here’s a few reasons I’m helping personally, as well as through a grant from the Greek America Foundation.

Erini isn’t just working to fill her bank account with profits or to get famous. 

On the contrary, she is spending hours on end of unpaid work and often traveling on her own dime to perpetuate and preserve our cultural legacy and heritage and also bring a unique genre of Greek music to the global community.

So while other immigrant applicants are out there doing an honest day’s work and being paid appropriately, Erini might spend weeks at a time in a studio, releasing music— NOT for the top 40 charts or hits that are lining her pockets with profits.

Erini’s work is ultimately preserving songs from ages past that grandmothers across the Greek world once sang to their grandchildren. She’s performing and giving new life to these songs at music festivals and concerts throughout the world and of course, making these new versions immortal on various digital platforms for today’s grandmothers to hit the “play” button for their grandchildren.

Erini’s songs will never make the top 40, because that’s not her goal – she is not releasing mainstream music but focusing on cultural ambassadorship. She won’t become a household name in America like Madonna or Beyonce. In fact, she’ll be lucky if she can manage to make a living exclusively by making music. 

Erini’s work is critical to the cultural fabric of America, while obviously also to preserving Greek music for future generations to come.

I have chosen to support Erini’s GoFundMe because America needs Ereni. America is a much better and more diverse country with Erini a part of it. 

Furthermore, Erini strengthens the cultural heritage that my parents and grandparents brought with them across the Atlantic to the New World and subsequent generations have struggled so hard to maintain.

I’m asking you to take in what I’ve written about this dynamic woman and all of the choices she’s made, some to her own career’s detriment, to maintain authenticity and remain true to the legacy of her great-grandparents from Asia Minor– and to the Greek heritage that is central to her DNA. 

I’m asking you to support a young woman who has made personal sacrifices and has taken the more difficult road in life, in order to preserve an important part of our Greek cultural heritage.

America is a better place with Erini here. 

Click here to read more about her life and accomplishments and to make a donation to her GoFundMe campaign.

Erini on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. And her Spotify page with all of her latest releases.