Esma Redzepova

When Esma Redzepova and her bandleader, mentor, and husband, Stevo Teodosievski, were crowned "Queen and King of Gypsy Music" at the first World Festival of Romany Songs and Music in 1976, it marked the pinnacle of a very successful musical career. The product of a Rom (Gypsy) Muslim and Jewish family, Redzepova was the daughter of a Serbian father and Turkish mother. Although she suffered from racism as a child, she continued to embrace her Rom heritage. Determined to make her career in music, she left home with a single suitcase containing one dress and one Cocek costume. Wi...