chameleon at heart: Margita je dečak

Today's post is inspired by the late Margita Stefanovic Magi, the keyboardist of the legendary Serbian band Ekatarina Velika or EKV. EKV was one of the most successful and influential bands through out the 80ies and the early 90ies in former Yugoslavia. The bend's unfortunate and tragic destiny came to its conclusion with the death of the last surviving member Margita Stefanovic in 2002. The band was founded in 1982 by Milan Mladenovic after the disbandment of Šarlo Akrobata. The original band cast consisted of classically trained pianist Margita, drummer Ivan Vidovic Vd and bass player Bojan Pečar. Margita was at the time finishing Architecture at the University of Belgrade and had the reputation for being the best pianist in town. She was extremely intelligent and a talented musician and together with Milan formed the core of the band. The band came to an end in 1994 after Milan died of cancer. After Milan's death and Ekatarina Velika's end, Magi continued her work as a musician. She composed scores for several TV projects and worked with many famous musicians but stopped in the late 90ies. Magi spent the last days of her life living in a shelter for homeless people and died from the consequences of drug consumption at the age of 43. Many problems and mostly drugs unfortunately destroyed this band but the music that was left behind is the best legacy that echoes Margita's message for the future generations and that's to take care of the kids. They are our hope.

Magi was really special both as a musician and as a woman beacuse she managed to be the main protagonist in the predominantly male world of rock'n'roll. Her style was unique like her - unobtrusive, sophisticated and feminine with a touch of rock. She would take pieces from men's clothing like oversized shirts, jackets and coats and wear it in a feminine way. My favorite look is the one from the video "Par godina za nas" where she wears a big coat, oversized bag, a white shirt and black shades.

Margita was most beautiful when she played.

Did you know:

Margita was the inspiration for the first Belgrade graffitti. Nebojsa Krstic wrote (VIS Idoli) at her home at Slavia „Margita is a boy“. Many years later the graffitti worn out and „The window must fall“ was written over it.

Margita graduated from a music high school as the most talented pianist in her class alongside Ivo Pogorelić and often competed with him. She even won a scholarship at the Moscow Conservatory but went to study architecture in Belgrade instead.

Današnji post je inspiriran Margitom Stefanović Magi, pokojnom klavijaturisticom legendarnog beogradskog benda Ekatarina Velika odnosno EKV. EKV je bio bend koji je obilježio 80te i rane 90te u bivšoj državi a tragične sudbine ljudi koji su djelovali u svirali u tom bendu zaokružila je Margitina preuranjena smrt 2002. godine. Bend je osnovao Milan Mladenović 1982. nakon raspada Šarla Akrobata godine a u orginalnoj postavi je bila i Margita zajedno sa Ivanom Vidovićem Vdom i basistom Bojanom Pečarom. Margita je u to vrijeme završavala studij arhitekture i glasila kao najbolja pijanistica u gradu. Bila je izuzetno inteligentna i talentirana glazbenica i zajedno sa Milanom činila jezgru benda. Bend se raspao 1994. nakon smrti Milana Mladenovića a Magi se nakon toga i dalje bavila glazbom. Komponirala je glazbu za kazalište, surađivala sa mnogim poznatim glazbenicima no krajem 90ih njena aktivnost slabi. Magi je zadnje dane svog života provela u centu za smještaj beskućnika da bi u umrla od posljedica konzumiranja droge dobi od 43. godine . Mnogi problemi i droga su nažalost razorili ovaj bend no glazba koju je ostala je najbolja ostavština novim generacijama kao i Magina poruka: „Čuvajte djecu!“ Ostavili su iza sebe nadu.

Magi je uistinu bila posebna i kao glazbenica a i kao rijetka žena koja je uspjela biti glavni protagonist u pretežito muškom svijetu rokenrola. Tako je i njezin stil bio jedinstven -nanametljiv, sofisticiran, ženstven sa rokerskim štihom. Preuzimala je komade iz muške garderobe poput košulja , sakoa i kaputa ali nosila na ženstveni način. Najdraža mi je njena kombinacija iz spota „Par godina za nas“ gdje nosi muški kaput, predimenzioniranu torbu, bijelu košulju i crne lenonice.

Margita je bila najljepša kad je svirala.

Jeste li znali :

Margita je bila inspiracija za prvi beogradski grafit, Naime, Nebojša Krstić (VIS Idoli) je na njenoj kući na Slaviji napisao Margita je dečak. Mnogo godina kasnije grafit je izblijedio , a preko njega je ispisano Prozor mora pasti.

Srednju glazbenu školu je završila u klasi sa Ivom Pogorelićem . Često se natjecala sa Pogorelićem a dobila je i ponuda za nastavak školovanja na moskovskom konezervatoriju koju je odbila radi studija arhitekture u Beogradu.