Hanna Ahroni is a truly international star. A Yemenite singer, she began performing in israel at the age of ten and in 1951, she joined the Golani Division of the Israeli Army where she performed with the Northern Command Troupe. In the late 1950s, she began tourisn Europe and South America, including performances in New York and Canada. In 1963, she recorded A Taste of Hanna (RCA), which made her a household name on American television, where she starred in an hour-long special with Paul Anka, and shared a bill for a month with Harry Belafonte at the Hilton Plaza in Miami. Hanna’s real fame came in South America where her show “An Hour With Hanna Ahroni” made her a legend in Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil. The song which put her over the top, Viva Espana, which she originally recorded as a throwaway during a recording session in Germany, was faintly audible all over Europe in the early ’70s. She even hosted “An Hour with Hanna Ahroni” which was broadcast on Mexican, Venezuelan, Argentinean, and Brazilian television. She was the “Face of Peace” of the 1968 Olympics in Mexico. Hanna played numerous shows at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and Ceasar’s Palace, where she opened a month long residence alongside Johnny Mathis. She currently lives in New York City.
Guela Gill, Hannah Ahroni, Theodore BikelGuela Gill, Hannah Ahroni, Theodore Bikel