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The National Saze Festival brings back the sounds of tradition in Kolonjë

2026-06-22 09:55:00, Qyteti im CNA

For two nights in a row, the National Saze Festival was held in Leskovik and Ersekë, where folklore groups from all over Albania performed traditional songs and dances.

A festival that has now become a tradition and has been organized for several years in a row in Kolonjë, aims to keep alive the cultural and artistic values ??of different regions.

"This is the 14th edition of the Folklore Typological Festival of Popular Sazes. This year, 12 groups are participating, and two other greeting groups are also participating. We have "Waves of the Lake" coming from Struga and a greeting group from Kosovo. The festival aims to promote intangible heritage and promote Popular Sazes. It deserves to not only be preserved but also inherited by new generations," said Erilda Selaj, director of the National Center for Traditional Activities.

Well-known artists, who have been part of the folk music scene for more than 30 years, show that this festival does a great honor to the saz, as the main focus remains on the inheritance from one generation to the next.

"The instrument is the most beloved thing. I play the lute, guitar, buzuk. Since 1976. Since Lulushi took me. That's when my passion began. There are young people who are playing but they don't play the tabla. They are continuing and renewing"

"I have been active with Gramsh's group since my youth, we have participated in Balkan festivals. In our regions this is preserved even in the younger generations, but unfortunately some of the youth have left and it is a misfortune for us, but they have preserved it where they are, in emigration."

"This festival is undoubtedly a profound memory of our inherited music and art, which unfolds on this stage that is the privilege of artists. It is a festival that, in addition to our popular culture, has existed for centuries, is inherited from generation to generation."

Through the sounds of saz, dances and songs that carry the history of the Albanian regions, the National Saz Festival in Kolonjë once again brought attention to the richness of our spiritual heritage. A tradition that aims not only to remain a memory of the past, but to be passed on to new generations as identity, culture and national pride./ CNA