Rebetiko is the urban popular Greek music of the poorest classes of the first half of the 20th century. As of December 2017, rebetiko is inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity created by UNESCO. The list is made up of elements that help demonstrate the diversity of the world heritage and raise awareness about its importance. Rebetiko was chosen by the Intergovernmental Committee who deemed it “a living musical tradition with a strong symbolic, ideological and artistic character”. As an intricate cultural concept, it is linked with music, song, dance and -especially in the past- with a particular attitude and way of life: the life of the outcast, the vagabonds and the displaced, but also of the labouring classes in large cities of newly industrialised Greece of the early 20th century.
