Albania's famous singer, Vace Zela, passes away
06/02/2014

The “People’s Artist”, Vace Zela, passed away in the first hours of this Thursday.

She gave her final breath close to her family in Basel, Switzerland, at 2:00 am. “Honor of our Nation” is a title that for the first time for a woman was received by Vace Zela.

“Golden Voice of Albania”, “Holy Icon of Albanian Singing”, “Queen of Albanian Singing”, are only some of the opinions for Vace Zela. Several generations adored her during 40 years of artistic career, not only for the excellent voice, but also for the state presence, where sometimes she appeared with her guitar.

“Initiator of a modern culture in the area of singing”, declared writer Dritero Agolli.

“She used to abandon songs that didn’t adapt to her voice. Vace kept a close connection between the characters of her voice and the song”, declared composer Tish Daija.

Vace used to make several suggestions to composers and poets about the notes and texts. “Her musical requests were incontestable”, declared composer Limoz Dizdari.

For Avni Mula, she had a natural intelligence in singing. Vace’s talent, musical intelligence and intuition were thrilling,

For poet Gjoke Beci, the “National Honor of Albania” can be translated into Vace Zela.

Vace Zela was born in April 7th 1939, Vace’s discovery was casual. Year after year she won the hearts of the Albanian public. She was present in a series of festivals, from Radio to TV, and holds the record of 12 first prizes. She won her first prize in the First Albanian Festival, with the song “Femija i Pare”. She left the scene in 1987, with her final song “Valtz of Happiness”. The last time that she appeared on a scene was 1992, during a tour in Switzerland. She left a rich repertoire with various songs, such as folk, light music, ballads and cantatas, all of them remained in the collective memory. She has contributed in many movie song themes, with “Lemza”, “Naten Vone”, “Ne Shtepine Tone”, “Lule Shqiperi”, “Per Arberine”, “E Dua Vendin Tim”, etc.

Zela had asked to be buried in Albania.

“In every national or family celebration, the first thing I want to do is place the Albanian flag, which makes me feel I’m in Albania. The love of the people keeps me alive. I miss Albania”, she had declared some time ago.

Some of the songs that Top Media uses to remake as a New Year greeting, have been performed years ago by Vace Zela in an exceptional way.