Esma Redžepova

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Esma Redžepova
Lozano and Esma performing their song Pred da se razdeni during the rehearsals for the second semifinals of the Eurovision Song Contest 2013.

Esma Redžepova (Есма Реџепова; born August 8, 1943 in Skopje ; † December 11, 2016 there ) was a singer who was born in what is now North Macedonia .

life and work

Redžepova belonged to the Roma population . She grew up in Šuto Orizari , a suburb of Skopje with a high proportion of Roma. Her mother was Turkish , her father was Serbian with Jewish and Roma roots. Esma's brother persuaded her to take part in a song competition for Romance songs. From then on she won several competitions and eventually began to sing professionally. She quickly became an important representative of the Sevdalinka music genre .

In her career she recorded 108 songs and 20 albums. Esma sang in Romani , Serbian and Macedonian . Esma is now valued and revered throughout the former Yugoslavia . Together with her husband Stevo Teodosievski she received the title King and Queen of Romani Music at the Roma Music Festival in Chandigarh in 1976. In 1983 Esma Redžepova sang in front of the Indian President Indira Gandhi . One of her most famous songs is Čaje Šukarije (Beautiful Girl). She sang Djelem, djelem in the version of Žarko Jovanović, which was chosen as the anthem of all Roma and Sinti. She also performed with the band Mostar Sevdah Reunion , for whose album of the same name they recorded Moj dilbere , a Sevdalinka.

Outside of her career as a singer, she was also known for her humanitarian work. She and her husband Stevo Teodosievski adopted 47 children and opened a children's home for homeless children in North Macedonia.

Together with the singer Vlatko Lozanoski , Esma Redžepova competed for North Macedonia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 . However, they were eliminated in the semifinals.

Redžepova died on December 11, 2016 after complications from pneumonia at the age of 73.

Web links

Commons : Esma Redžepova  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Carol Silverman: Romani Routes: Cultural Politics and Balkan Music in Diaspora. Oxford University Press 2012. p. 211
  2. ↑ Esma & Lozano - Pred Da Se Razdeni (FYR Macedonia) - Live - 2013 Semi-Final (2) . Youtube channel of the Eurovision Song Contest, uploaded May 16, 2013 (3:20 minutes).
  3. ↑ Odlazak kraljice romske glazbe: Preminula Esma Redžepova. Nacional , December 11, 2016, accessed December 11, 2016 (Croatian).
personal data
SURNAME Redžepova, Esma
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Реџепова, Есма (North Macedonian)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION North Macedonian singer
DATE OF BIRTH August 8, 1943
PLACE OF BIRTH Skopje , Macedonia
DATE OF DEATH December 11, 2016
Place of death Skopje , Macedonia