Zafir Hadžimanov

Zafir Hadžimanov
Зафир Хаџиманов
Born(1943-12-25)25 December 1943
Died27 March 2021(2021-03-27) (aged 77)
CitizenshipYugoslav, Serbian
OccupationActor
Notable workMacedonian Blood Wedding

Zafir Hadžimanov (Macedonian: Зафир Хаџиманов; 25 December 1943 – 27 March 2021) was a Yugoslav, Serbian and Macedonian singer, composer and actor who spent most of his adult life in Belgrade.[1]

Biography

Zafir Hadžimanov was born on 25 December 1943 in Kavadarci, Bulgarian-occupied Yugoslav Macedonia, where he spent his childhood. His father was a folklorist.[2] Hadžimanov studied at a high school together with a music school in Skopje.[3] While studying in Belgrade in the 1960s,[4] he performed as a singer of popular music.[5] At the festival in Opatija in 1965, he won first place with the song Why do you come only with the rain. Four years later, at the same festival, he performed the song It Was May.[4] Hadžimanov graduated from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade in 1967. He spent almost his entire life in Belgrade, marrying Yugoslav singer and actress Senka Veletanlić, with whom he had a son, Vasil Hadžimanov, a jazz musician.[2][6] As a singer, he also performed abroad, especially in the Soviet Union.[4] Hadžimanov sang the songs Like Vardar, Love me and the head above, There is no escape from love.[2] He acted in the films Knife and Macedonian Blood Wedding.[4][7] He authored the poetry collections "Chansons on Paper", "Asylum", "People's Singer", "Song-Singer" and "Brother", published in Macedonian and Serbian. Hadžimanov participated in the festivals Struga Poetry Evenings in 1975 and the International Festival of Chansons, in 2003.[2] In 1991, he was a co-founder of the Macedonian-Serbian association Šar Planina and the association of Macedonians in Belgrade - "Makedonium".[3] In 2007, he was promoted to honorary ambassador of Macedonian culture in Serbia.[2]

Hadžimanov died from complications caused by COVID-19 on 27 March 2021, at the age of 77.[8] President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić posthumously honored him with the award Golden Medal for Merits on 29 June 2021.[9] He is notable for his contribution to Macedonian music too.[10] Hadžimanov was posthumously honored with the award Order of Merit for the Republic of North Macedonia by president of North Macedonia Stevo Pendarovski on 23 July 2021 for "his huge contribution to the specific poly-genre development in the field of artistic creation, for the rich and specific opus in the field of music, composition and vocal interpretation, for the innovative models of promotion of traditional Macedonian harmonies and specifics in the Macedonian music through contemporary and popular forms".[11]

References

  1. ^ "Од љубов не се бега". Nedeljnik Vreme. 21 July 2010. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  2. ^ a b c d e "He was an honorary ambassador of the culture of Macedonia, and the whole of Yugoslavia was talking about his love for his Shadow: Zafir Hadjimanov was born on this day". Sloboden Pecat. 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Почина Зафир Хаџиманов, македонски амбасадор на културата во Србија Опсервер: Почина Зафир Хаџиманов, македонски амбасадор на културата во Србија". Opserver (in Macedonian). 27 March 2021. Archived from the original on 27 March 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d "Zafir Hadjimanov passed away". Vijesti. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
  5. ^ Danijela Š. Beard; Ljerka V. Rasmussen (eds.). Made in Yugoslavia: Studies in Popular Music. Routledge. p. 18. ISBN 9781315452333.
  6. ^ "Vasil Hadžimanov: Džez pijanista - Ljudi - Dnevni list Danas". Danas.rs (in Serbian (Latin script)). 14 February 2020. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  7. ^ Anita Buhin (2019). "Love and fashion: musical comedy and Yugoslav dolce vita". Studies in Eastern European Cinema: 11. doi:10.1080/2040350X.2018.1554306.
  8. ^ "PREMINUO ZAFIR HADŽIMANOV: Poznati glumac i pevač izgubio bitku protiv korone". NOVOSTI (in Serbian (Latin script)). Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  9. ^ "Predsednik uručio odlikovanja povodom Vidovdana: Naša istorija je veličanstvena, a naši preci junački uzori! (Video)". Republika (in Serbian (Latin script)). 29 June 2021.
  10. ^ Vinska biografija Zafira Hadžimanova. 24 Jun. 2013, Top.Srbija.
  11. ^ "President Pendarovski awards Goran Stefanovski, Zafir Hadzimanov, Ramzi Nesimi and Zivko Mukaetov with the Order of Merit for the Republic of North Macedonia". Петти претседател на Република Северна Македонија - Стево Пендаровски. 23 July 2021.