Silvana Armenulić
| Silvana Armenulić | |
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Pictured in 1971
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| Born |
Zilha Bajraktarević 18 May 1938 Doboj, Vrbas Banovina, Kingdom of Yugoslavia |
| Died | 10 October 1976 (aged 38) Kolari, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia |
| Other names | Zilha Armenulić, The Queen of Sevdalinka |
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| Years active | 1954–76 |
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| Children | Gordana (b. 1965) |
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Zilha Bajraktarević (18 May 1938 – 10 October 1976), known professionally as Silvana Armenulić (pronounced [silvǎːna armɛ̌nulit͡ɕ]), was a Yugoslav singer-songwriter and actress from Bosnia and Herzegovina and one of the most prominent commercial folk music and traditional sevdalinka singers in Yugoslavia. She is called the "The Queen of Sevdalinka". Her life was cut short when she died in a road accident at the age of 38, but she continues to be well regarded in the region and she is recognized for her unique singing style and voice. Armenulić's song "Šta će mi život", written by her friend and contemporary Toma Zdravković, is one of the best-selling singles from the former Yugoslavia.
Two of her sisters were also professional singers: Mirsada Mirjana Bajraktarević and Dina Bajraktarević.
Born Zilha Bajraktarević in Doboj, Bosnia and Herzegovina, she was the third of thirteen children in a Muslim Bosniak family. Her father was Mehmed Bajraktarević (1909–1966), a local cake shop operator, and her mother was Hajrija (1916–2008). The family surname has origins in the Ottoman Empire; bajrak is the Turkish word for flag. Zilha survived a bout with diphtheria as a child shortly after World War II.
Zilha had a brother named Hajrudin who died about two weeks after being mauled by a dog in the 1940s. After her brother's death, her father found solace in alcohol and solitude, neglecting the family and his business. After her father's cake shop closed, the family suffered greatly. Some of her earliest memories were of her father's absence and the second World War, when mother Hajrija and the children hid in the basement from Ustaše troops. The family of thirteen children included Zilha's sisters Mirsada Bajraktarević (Mirjana), Hajrudina (Dina), Abida, and Ševka, and brothers Hajrudin, Muhamed, Izudin, Abudin, and Ismet. Her sister Ševka's son Sabahudin Bilalović became a professional basketball player who died at age 43 of a heart attack on the beach while swimming with his son. Ten years later, Ševka and her husband Lutvo both died of natural causes in September 2013, just days apart.
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