Nexhmije Pagarusha

Nexhmije Pagarusha was born on 7 May 1933 in Pagarushë, a village near Malisheva, Kosovo. She started her music career as a singer for Radio Prishtina in 1948. Her musical creative work lasted for almost 40 years, and due to the contrast in genres she performed in, it is not easy to define Pagarusha as a specific type of singer. She sang both folk music and classical music, especially opera. Pagarusha was given titles such as Bilbili i Kosovës (Nightingale of Kosovo), Queen of Kosovar music, and Madame Butterfly. She performed not just in her own country but also in other European countries, such as Albania, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria etc. She led several tours with the music ensemble Shota in these countries, and also in Israel. In Kosovo, she gained the title Këngëtare e shekullit (Singer of the Century). A song "Baresha" (The Shepherdess), is one of her most popular songs. It was composed by her husband, Rexho Mulliqi and the lyrics were written by Rifat Kukaj. Pagarusha played in many theatre plays and movies and also as an actress she won many prizes. She ended her music career in 1984 after holding a huge concert in Sarajevo. In 2000 she sang a song called "Për ty" (For You) in an Albanian TV show, after 16 years of absence. She worked as a senior adviser for music on Radio Kosovo and on Radio Blue Sky, both located in Pristina. She was awarded the "Honor of the Nation" decoration by the President of Albania Bujar Nishani in November 2012. Nexhmije Pagarusha died on 7 February 2020 due to an unknown disease. She was buried in Tirana, where thousands of fans and celebrities attended her funeral. She is remembered as one of the most influential and beloved singers in Albanian history.