Vaçe Zela (; 7 April 19396 February 2014) was an Albanian singer and

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

. 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 ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

and

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

. Born in

Lushnjë Lushnjë (; locally ''Lushnje'' ; sq-definite, Lushnja) is a city and municipality in west-central Albania. The municipality's population is 63,135 as of the 2023 census, in a total area of . History In January 1920, Lushnje was a provis ...

and raised in

Tirana Tirana ( , ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in Albania, 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 ov ...

within

Communist Albania The People's Socialist Republic of Albania, () was the Marxist-Leninist state that existed in Albania from 10 January 1946 to the 29 April 1991. Originally founded as the People's Republic of Albania from 1946 to 1976, it was governed by the Pa ...

, 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 (; ), commonly known as and also referred to as simply FiK or Fest, is an annual music competition in Albania organised by the national broadcaster (RTSH). Broadcast every year since its inauguration in 1962, the festival has determined th ...

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 An award, sometimes called a distinction, is given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it ...

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

Honor of Nation Order The "Honour of the Nation" Decoration () 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 ''Për dekoratat në Republikën e ...

Early life and education

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

, then part of the Kingdom of Albania, 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". 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; ) 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 three main riv ...

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, where she began to learn the guitar.

Career

First appearances

Zela was first appointed in the Army's Ensemble (), then in the State's Ensemble (), and finally the Ensemble of Songs and Dances ().

Awards

Zela was the first winner of Albanian music competition

with the song "Fëmija i parë" (), on 26 December 1962. International awards include "Golden Disk", "Woman of the year" in

Cambridge, England Cambridge ( ) is a city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of ...

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 cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

, for the singer's unique contribution to

Albanian music The music of Albania () is associated with the country of Albania and Albanian communities. Music has a long tradition in the country and is known for its regional diversity, from the Ghegs in the North to the Tosks in the South. It is an integ ...

, 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