-On March 5, 1872, Father Lorenc Mazreku was born in Kosova. He celebrated the first Mass on July 7, 1894. In addition to his religious activities, Father Lorenc was distinguished for teaching the Albanian language in schools, which raised the hatred of the Serbs against him. He was murdered on the way from Gjakova to Peja, on February 15, 1943.

-On March 5, 1982, the actor and singer of Albanian origin, John Belushi passed away in Hollywood. He was born on January 24, 1949 in Chicago. John Belushi’s first movie is Animal House, while his biggest success is the comedy movies was The Blues Brothers where he becomes a cult figure. He passed away at the age of 33.

-On March 5, 1998, with the legendary war of the Jashari family against Serbian paramilitary forces, the Kosova War “officially” began. Its martyr was the historical commander of the Kosova Liberation Army, Adem Jashari.

-On March 5, 2018, Abdulla Grimci, the last of the first constellation of Albanian composers after World War II, passed away at the age of 99 in Ascoli Piceno, Italy. He was born in Shkodër on July 2, 1919. He remains the founder of the music editorial office of Radio Tirana, which successfully organized the first Song Festival in RTSH, and this tradition would be followed for decades, until at present days. His song in the first RTSH Song Fest was also very significant and full of meaning, and the winning song too. It was titled “The First Child”. Adbulla Grimci directed for many years the “Publishing House of Creativity”. He composed many symphonic works for orchestra including, overtures, symphonic dance, rhapsodies and symphonies. We are grateful to this rare musician who gave a lot to Albanian culture and art. Maestro Grimci passed away on March 5, 2018, in Italy, where he lived since 1992.

/a.p./