The second night of “Korça Serenights”/ Extraordinary emotions from the serenade stars

2025-09-20 13:50:00, Qyteti im CNA

The second night of “Korça Serenights”/ Extraordinary

The second night of the "Korça Serenights" festival brought another evening full of emotions for the city of serenades.

The event was organized in the square in front of the Artistic Lyceum, where history and art meet, creating a special stage for music inherited from generation to generation.

The atmosphere was warm and friendly, where many serenade lovers, citizens of Korça but also visitors, gathered to enjoy the sounds of the guitar and the voices of the artists.

The audience sang along with the singers, turning the square into a large choir that proved once again that the serenade is an inseparable part of the Korçë soul.

The famous Korça singer Mimoza Paraveli told Cna about the special emotions she experiences every time she takes to the stage of her city. For her, the serenade is an early love, linked since childhood to family memories and later nourished by collaborations with serenaders of the previous generation, such as Piro Suljoti and Spanja Pipa. She sees this tradition as a pure musical treasure, which has shaped generations and which must be passed on unchanged.

"I tell you with all my heart that when I come to Korça, I don't have these emotions on any other stage that I have here because they are the best art critics. Serenade is a love that never leaves you because we grew up with serenades, we heard them from our parents and I think we were lucky to grow up in that generation, that we received serenades as they were, without deformations, pure, beautiful. When I was little, on Sundays we would go with my uncles to the hills of the city as a family and my uncle would play the guitar. Since then, I have been connected to serenades and to singing Korça songs. Later, in high school, I became very close to the Suljoti family. I learned from the great Piro Suljoti, from Spain Pipa, that is, that generation helped our generation a lot because they were pure, kind, who wanted at all costs to transmit our beautiful music to the generations, just as we want it today."

Even for the veteran serenader Vaskë Niço, this evening was a special day. He considers the festival an elevation of the serenade to a higher artistic level, appreciating the fact that there is no competition between artists. According to him, the serenade has no price and cannot be measured by competitions, as it is a spiritual message that carries the pride of the people of Korçë and delights not only the local public, but also Albanian immigrants everywhere in the world. Among other things, he promises that his granddaughter, who was born just a few months ago in America, will become the only American serenader after her grandfather is around to teach her to sing with him.

"Today is a special day, and starting yesterday, this has been one of the most beautiful days and I'm glad that it is rising to a higher level and there are no competitions. I used to be against prizes. The serenade has no price. It is only 1, it always has first prize and all those who sing it and carry it should be proud not only that they are from Korça, but that they carry an extraordinary spiritual message because the serenade itself is the therapy of the soul. Not only for us from Korça, but for all Albanians and especially for the immigrants who I want to greet with a big bravo who always support us. I take advantage of the opportunity to greet my niece who made me happy in Jacksonville, Florida, Arian. She may become the only American serenader when she has her grandfather by her side. I will try to sing with her in America."

Also present on stage was one of the first female voices to give life to the Korça serenade, Jorgjeta Lalazi. She described the festival as a beautiful event for the city of serenades and emphasized that her greatest wish is that the serenade never fades. For Lalazi, the fact that Korça has more serenaders than songs is an indicator of the vitality of this tradition, which continues to be preserved by the groups that perform in the city.

"This event was very beautiful for the city of serenades, our beautiful Korça. As Jorgjeta, I ask that this serenade never die. I have emotions because of course every artist has their own emotions, but I am more insistent that this serenade never die. We have many groups that sing in Korça, there are more serenaders than songs, and this makes me very happy. I will remember everyone today, and I will try to leave a song and continue the names of the citizens of my city. Thank you also to the groups of Korça, may they be healthy and all the best."

The mayor, Sotiraq Filo, underlined the importance of the serenade as an inalienable value of the city's cultural identity. He said that the second edition of "Korça Serenights" has brought an innovation by being distributed in several different points of the city, with the aim of this activity becoming a tradition and becoming an attraction for tourists and visitors coming to Korça.

"Serenade is an inalienable value of the city of Korça. It is part of our cultural identity, a value that we are proud of and that is sung not only in Korça but in all Albanian regions. Based on this very powerful heritage, we are organizing Korça Serenight for the second edition. The uniqueness of this edition is that we are moving it to different points of the city. I hope that we can turn this activity into a tradition and why not have the opportunity to have one of those attractions to attract tourists and visitors to enjoy our beautiful serenade."

The second night of “Korça Serenights” proved once again that the serenade is not just a memory of the past, but a living tradition that unites generations and evokes special emotions. In the square in front of the Lyceum, famous singers and bands from the city became one with the public, turning the evening into a popular celebration where music was sung and lived by everyone. At this pace, the festival is becoming a new tradition for Korça, further strengthening the cultural identity of the city and making the serenade one of the most precious attractions for citizens and visitors./ CNA