Hanka Paldum
Ceremonial closing of the festival

Hanka Paldum, Bosnian singer of newly composed folk music and one of the most eminent interpreters of Bosnian sevdalinka, whom many call the sevdah diva, will perform her most famous songs such as Crne kose (Black hair), Voljela sam voljela (I loved), Ali pamtim jos (I still remember), Zelene oci (Green eyes), but also numerous hits from the treasury of sevdah. The first sevdalinka she recorded was Moj beharu, ko li mi te bere (My blossom, who is picking thee). The victory at the festival of amateur singers Pjevajmo Danu mladosti (Let’s sing to the Day of Youth) enabled her to record her first single record “Pokraj puta rodila jabuka” (An apple tree along the path yielded) in 1975 for the Sarajevo Discoton. Milic Vukasinovic wrote the song Voljela sam voljela for Hanka, with which she achieved great success and won the Popularity Oscar for singer of the year. In 1980, she released her first album Ceznja (Longing). The biggest hit from this album was the song Crne kose. In 1982, the second album Sanjam (I am dreaming) was released, entirely composed by Milic Vukasinovic. The album sold over a million and a half copies, which was followed by a tour throughout the former Yugoslavia. She recorded many songs for the Radio Sarajevo archive, the most famous of which is Stade se cvijece rosom kititi (The flowers started sprucing themselves with dew).