|
Tens of thousands mourn Balkan pop star
2007-10-17
Tens of thousands of mourners paid tribute Wednesday to Macedonian pop star Tose Proeski, a chart-topping Balkan singer who was laid to rest here a day after dying in a car crash. Seen at home as a national ambassador for the tiny Balkan country who was gifted with an "angelic" voice, Proeski was buried with full state honours at his birthplace in the town of Krusevo. Proeski was killed when the car in which he was travelling slammed into a truck on a highway in eastern Croatia on Tuesday. He was 26 years old. His body was flown home overnight in a Macedonian military helicopter as hundreds of weeping fans crammed into the main square of the capital Skopje to light candles, lay flowers and leave messages at makeshift shrines. His coffin, draped in a Macedonian flag, went on display Wednesday morning in front of a church in Krusevo, a small western town where Proeski was born and his parents and sister still live. "Tose, we love you" and "Tose, we are very, very sad," said some of the messages left beside the casket holding Proeski, who was also renowned for his humanitarian work as a UNICEF ambassador. "Tose taught us the values of humanity, hard work and sincerity. He left much too young in the legends, leaving an invaluable legacy behind," said Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski. "He is a role model to be followed and respected. Tose has left his song to cheer us up when hard times knock on the door," the leader added. Among the mourners were politicians, diplomats, church leaders and many pop singers who came from around the former Yugoslavia to pay homage to Proeski, reflecting the widespread respect he had among all ethnic groups of the war-torn region. The funeral was broadcast live on television in Macedonia and Serbia, and received broad media coverage in other places where he also had a string of number one hits such as Bosnia and Croatia. Proeski, who represented his country at the Eurovision song contest in 2004, was considered by some local musicians as the biggest talent to have emerged on the Balkan pop scene in recent decades. Among his main hits -- which were sung in Macedonian and Serbian language -- were "Cija Si" (Whose Are You) and "Ako Me Poglednes Vo Oci" (If You Look Me in The Eyes). Proeski's manager Ljiljana Petrovic and driver Gjorgji Gjorgjevski escaped with injuries from the car accident, which happened near the eastern Croatian town of Nova Gradiska on Tuesday morning. The Macedonian government has proclaimed Wednesday a national day of mourning.
| 
