Nenad Stekić – “White Bimon”
What no one else had ever achieved in long jump was accomplished by the magnificent Nenad Stekić, who ranked first on the world lists for five consecutive years during the 1970s. The record he set remains unbroken by any Yugoslav athlete to this day. As a child, he used to jump over clotheslines at his […]
Miodrag Petrović Čkalja – A Born Comedian
On the very day the world celebrates humor, one of the greatest actors and comedians from this region was born – Miodrag Petrović Čkalja. “I was skinny like a stick, transparent, so from ‘čaklja’ (stick) it became ‘Čkalja,'” this unparalleled comedian explained the origin of his nickname. He began his career in the Drama Studio […]
Ivo Pogorelic – piano master
Ivo Pogorelić began his music education at the age of seven in Belgrade at the Dr. Vojislav Vučković and Mokranjac music schools and continued his studies at the Central Music School in Moscow in 1970. He enrolled at the Moscow State Conservatory, named after Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, in 1975. In 1976, he began an intensive […]
Dragutin Šurbek, Table Tennis Player
He was born on August 8, 1946, in Zagreb. He started playing table tennis in Zagreb at the age of ten in the STK Poštar club, and since 1965, he was a member of GSTK Vesnik — Zagreb. By profession, he was a PTT technician. He started playing for the Yugoslav national team in 1966. […]
Zdenka Vučković – Yugoslavia’s First Child Pop Star
Zdenka was born in 1942 and managed to win a children’s music competition at the tender age of six. She captured the hearts of the audience at the age of 15 when, in a duet with Ivo Robić, she sang the songs “Moja mala djevojčica” (remembered by many as “Daddy, Buy Me a Car”) and […]
Vera Nikolić – Celebrated Athlete
She was born in the village of Grabovica near Despotovac on September 23, 1948. At the age of 13, she won the school cross-country race in Ćuprija. There, athletics expert Aleksandar Petrović noticed her and suggested they work together. After a year of collaboration, Vera began winning cross-country races throughout Yugoslavia. She achieved notable results […]
Tito and Fidel Castro – (Un)Friendship
Yugoslav Marshal Josip Broz and Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro met in 1969 in the corridors of the United Nations. Prior to Tito’s speech, Castro approached the leader of Yugoslavia and got acquainted with a leader he greatly admired. Afterwards, the two officials frequently socialized. The spirited El Comandante visited Yugoslavia for the first time […]
Tina Turner in Yugoslavia
Tina Turner and her then-husband Ike opened a series of major world concerts in Yugoslavia. They performed for the first time in the “Pionir” hall in front of 6,295 people on November 2, 1974. They stayed at the “Jugoslavija” hotel and visited the famous tavern “Tri šešira” in Skadarlija, where they tried local specialties. Tina […]
Safet Sušić „Pape”
He began his career at Krivaja from Zavidovići, where he started playing in the first team at the age of 16. The 1972/73 season saw him start as a player for FK Sarajevo, first as a junior, making his debut in the senior team on August 3, 1973. Over the next decade and more than […]