Μάρκος Βαμβακάρης {Markos Vamvakaris} (1905-1972) was a rembetika singer, composer, and bouzouki player. Vamvakaris was born on 10th May 1905 in Ano Chora, Syros, Greece. His family belonged to the sizeable Roman Catholic community of the island, the Frankosyrians, a name deriving from the common Greek reference to West Europeans collectively as "Franks". At the age of twelve, believing he was wanted by the police, Vamvakaris left Syros and went to Piraeus.