Vaska Ilieva

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Vaska Ilieva (born February 21, 1923, died May 4, 2001) was a leading Macedonian folk singer. Started her career as dancer and singer at the State Ensamble "Tanec" in the early 1950s. Her style of singing and the songs she sang broth her wide popularity throughout Macedonia, the rest of the former Yugoslavia and the region, as well as throughout the Macedonian immigration in the world. She was referred to as the "Queen" of Macedonian traditional song.

Ilieva was awarded various honours from many European countries and toured America, Europe and Australia. Her repertoire of over 800 songs earned her a reputation as one of the most versatile and popular Macedonian female artists. Since the mid-1980s, Ilieva focused on interpreting patriotic songs, reflecting popular opinion and preceding the independence of the Republic of Macedonia.

[edit] Kumanovo

During her Australian tour in 1992, Ilieva recorded several a cappella versions of traditional songs. One of those was "Sto mi omilelo," which is exclusively used in Kumanovo. The song is a pecalbarska pesna (economic migrant song), describing a man's longing, fondness and memory of his home town of Kumanovo, the maidens who live there, and the Kumanovo plains in northern Macedonia. This region of Macedonia was under terrorist attack and occupation in late 2001, triggering a mobilization of the Macedonian Army for the first time since 1943. Many Macedonians lost their lives in this insurgency by fundamentalists who had western military intelligence, political and financial support. Some Macedonians believe this was a strategic action to gain control over oil pipelines from the Middle East, which are proposed to run through the northern region of Macedonia.