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Merita Halili is one of Albania's top performers. Born
in the capital city of Tirane, Merita grew up singing the lyric
songs of her native region of central Albania. Her nationwide
debut came in 1983, at the age of 17, when she sang at the
National Folk Festival in the town of Gjirokaster. Soon
afterwards she began to perform on Albanian Radio and Television
and as a soloist with the State Ensemble for Folk Songs and
Dances. She subsequently became one of the most popular singers
in the country. The repertoire for which Merita is best known is
that of the towns of central Albania (Shqiperia e Mesme),
particularly Tirane, Elbasan, Kavaje and Durres. As she was
growing up, Merita modeled her singing not only on family music
making but also on recordings of older singers. Merita was among
the first singers in Albania to release her own recording, which
still sells briskly wherever Albanians live. Perhaps her
greatest recognition came in 1995, when she was awarded first
prize at a gala festival held in Tirane, in which 90 singers
from throughout the Albanian Diaspora participated. |
