Vaçe Zela (; 7 April 19396 February 2014) was an Albanian singer and songwriter. She was a leading figure in the music industry and is considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century in

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

and Macedonia. Born in

Lushnjë Lushnjë (; in Lushnje's own dialect: ''Lushnje'' ; sq-definite, Lushnja) is a city and municipality in west-central Albania. It is located in the County of Fier. The total population is 83,659 (2011 census), in a total area of . History ...

and raised in

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

within

Communist Albania The People's Socialist Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika Popullore Socialiste e Shqipërisë, links=no) was the Marxist–Leninist one party state that existed in Albania from 1946 to 1992 (the official name of the country was the People's R ...

, she developed a great interest in music at an early age before embarking on a professional career as a musician in 1962. An eleven-time winner, she built her reputation as a highly successful musician by winning the first edition of

Festivali i Këngës Festivali i Këngës (; ), also referred to as simply FiK, is an annual music competition in Albania organised by the national broadcaster Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH). Broadcast every year since its inauguration in 1962, it has also determ ...

as well as her future victories in the festival. Zela is a recipient of significant

awards and decorations Awards and decorations may refer to: * Award, something given to a recipient in recognition of excellence in a certain field * Civil awards and decorations, awarded to civilians for distinguished service or for eminence in a field of endeavour * Mil ...

. She was awarded the Merited Artist Order, People's Artist Order and

Honor of Nation Order The "Honour of the Nation" Decoration ( sq, Dekorata "Nderi i Kombit") is the highest decoration to be given in Albania, among the Civil awards and decorations of Albania, and was instituted by special law No. 8113, of 28 March 1996, entitled ''Pë ...

Life

Vaçe Zela was born on 7 April 1939 in the city of

, then part of the

Kingdom of Albania Kingdom of Albania may refer to: *Kingdom of Albania (medieval) — from the Capetian House of Anjou *Albanian Kingdom (1928–1939) — from the House of Zogu *Albanian Kingdom (1939–1943) — from the House of Savoy during the Italian occupati ...

, into an

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

family, as she herself said, in which music was "sitting cross-legged in everyone's soul".

Career

First appearances

The first to discover Zela's talents were her school teachers. She was not only talented in music, but also in painting and theater. Zela was only ten years old when she began to sing folk songs from the

Myzeqe The Myzeqe (; sq-definite, Myzeqeja; rup, Muzachia) is a plain in the Western Lowlands of Albania. The Myzeqe is the largest and widest plain, measured by area, in the Lowlands. Location The Myzeqe plain is a large alluvial plain traversed by t ...

region. She would often casually sing in her city of Lushnje's parks, attracting the passersby. Soon she would participate in small concerts organized in the city, although her parents did not like much the idea that their daughter took such a path. Nevertheless, she went to

to compete in order to study at the prestigious School of Arts, but was not accepted, and attended

Qemal Stafa High School The Qemal Stafa High School is a high school, located in Tirana, Albania. Founded in 1925 by Prime Minister Ahmet Zogu, as the ''Lyceum of Tirana'', it has many notable alumni, of whom 75 died in World War II and 14 were awarded the title People' ...

, where she began to learn the guitar. Zela was first appointed in the Army's

Ensemble Ensemble may refer to: Art * Architectural ensemble * ''Ensemble'' (album), Kendji Girac 2015 album * Ensemble (band), a project of Olivier Alary * Ensemble cast (drama, comedy) * Ensemble (musical theatre), also known as the chorus * ''En ...

( sq, Ansambli i Ushtrisë), then in the State's Ensemble ( sq, Ansambli Shtetëror), and finally the Ensemble of Songs and Dances ( sq, Ansambli i Këngëve dhe Valleve).

Awards

Zela was the first winner of the first Songs Festival in Albania with the song "First Child" ( sq, Fëmija i parë) on 26 December 1962. International awards include "Golden Disk", "Woman of the year" in

Cambridge, England Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge became ...

for '97-'98, "Golden Microphone" from the Ministry of Culture of

, etc. The latest award was "Special Grand Prize for Singing Legend", the 45th anniversary of the Festival at

ART Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

, for the singer's unique contribution to

Albanian music Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

, and participation since the very first years of this festival, during which she received many awards.

References

Sources

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zela, Vace 1939 births 2014 deaths People from Lushnjë Albanian guitarists Albanian songwriters 20th-century Albanian women singers Qemal Stafa High School alumni Festivali i Këngës winners Merited Artists of Albania People's Artists of Albania 21st-century Albanian women singers 20th-century women guitarists 21st-century women guitarists