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Festival of Serenades in Korça/ Magical night!

2024-09-29 11:09:00, Qyteti im CNA

The Old Bazaar of Korça is packed to the brim this evening on the second night of the Serenade Festival. Thousands of citizens and visitors have come together enjoying the fantastic performances of the old artists from Korcar who have brought the original songs but also slightly modernized ones to the public.

An atmosphere full of life, with the sounds of guitars, with the wonderful voices of the singers, and of course with the endless applause of the public that filled the entire bazaar area.

This edition, as the first one organized by the municipality of Korça in cooperation with the European Union, had as a special guest the head of cooperation of this delegation who with great pleasure showed that for the first time he is listening to the serenades played live.

Hubert Perr says that the European Union is proud to bring this edition to Korça, as serenades are a very strong part of the Korça tradition. After the two-day journey together with various journalists from Albania, among the cities they visited, Perr says that Korça is the icing on the cake.

Festival of Serenades in Korça/ Magical night!

Hubert Perr

"Let me first say that I feel fantastic that I came here to Korça and that for the first time, directly, being here I had the opportunity to listen to the Korça serenades. We as EU are very proud to be we who bring this first edition of this festival to Korça, because we have realized that the serenades are a very strong part of the Korça tradition, and for this reason we are happy and proud to be a part of the work that we are doing in Albania. During these last two days, we had the opportunity to show you what support the EU is giving to art and culture. We had the pleasure of being in Berat, Bylis, Përmet, Leskovik, and of course the icing on the cake is this place where we organized the Serenade Festival together with the Korçë municipality. Now I have to leave it at that, because I want to listen to the serenades."

Part of the Lira Choir is the 92-year-old artist Llazi Balashi, who has been singing original serenades for a lifetime, while this evening, together with other members of the Choir, they will open the festival by singing some of the most beautiful Korça songs.

Llazi Balashi

"My activity started in 1970 near the choir of the palace of culture. Today we will sing some songs characteristic of the city of Korça, "One day I went from Drenova", "I fell behind" etc. I feel very light, the song has followed me in every alley of my city, those alleys that sought the sun and we sang to it on the balcony."

The whole city of Korça knows the artist Tomi Kondakçi, one of the most special artists who has preserved the tradition even though he says that time is evolving. He calls the serenade a god, while he says that he wants to play it in his own way, but a little developed, definitely preserving the character of the serenade in itself.

Tomi Kondakçi

"The serenade was really sung and it's very beautiful, that we are preserving the tradition is a good thing. Time is evolving, once upon a time you sang a serenade and you weren't afraid that a car would come and crush you. Today it still crushes you. While this meeting that we serenade is what we have to save. After all, the new creations are another thing. I prefer the serenade in my own way, to come as an easy song but with the character of a serenade."

Even the well-known Korçar singer Mihallaq Andrea comes to this evening to sing some of the songs created by him, but also to listen to other artists with their interpretations. Great emotions for Mihallaq because for him this event has been embraced since it was discussed a few months ago and since today it became a reality.

Dear Andrea

"I enjoy it a lot, since this matter was discussed a long time ago. Today I am coming with pleasure to both listen and sing some of my songs. It is beautiful, thank you to those who initiated it. I am strict, I don't feel like it it's good that my songs are degenerate, but sometimes I like them and let them sing as they want. Some of my songs are very rhythmic. They enjoy the serenade of the windows on the balcony, sometimes we drink too much brandy with them. "

Ermira Kola, the Korça woman who has been living in America for years, is part of this grand event in the Korça bazaar. For him, it is a privilege to be among the old artists and singers who have preserved the tradition of bio serenades.

Ermira Kola

"Very happy, it's a very beautiful night where all the old singers, the artists who have serenaded us over the years are all here today and I feel privileged to be among them. Music evolves, I'm part of it treating the song differently, but let's see how the people of Korça will receive it because they can't like this music disturbance."

For the deputy mayor of Korça, this festival was added to the annual calendar of events in the city, while she is convinced that it will be the most important festival because of the Korça tradition preserved over generations. Benila Themeli says that Korça is fully booked this evening and a large number of tourists have joined the festival. Among other things, she emphasizes that this festival is unique in Albania and will be a magnet for visitors and a reason for joy in the fall for all Korcarians.

Benila Foundation

"It is a great pleasure for us that the Serenade festival is added to the annual calendar of events in Korçë. It was conceived and designed by the Korçë municipality and with the help of EU and ADF funding, we bring to Korçë for the first time this year the edition of the serenade festival that I am convinced will be the most important and interesting festival of our annual calendar. In many events that we organize, other cities have copied us and we are glad that we have served as a model with tourism built in this decade, but this festival will be unique because even if other municipalities want to copy it, no one in Albania has the serenade that we have. I am very happy that the EU delegation's director, Nga according to the data of the tourism office, today Korça is reserved, which means that this festival in its first edition is a precious stone in the tourist package, a visitor magnet and a reason for joy in autumn for all the people of Korça."

The second night of the serenades festival in Korça brought a fantastic atmosphere to the city, with a massive participation of citizens and visitors who did not stop clapping and singing along with Korça artists. The Festival of Serenades is already the most beautiful and important event of the annual calendar of events./ CNA