Flory Jagoda - Infinite Women

Born: 21 December 1923, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Died: 29 January 2021
Country most active: United States
Also known as: Flora Papo

The following is republished from the National Endowment for the Arts. This piece falls under under public domain, as copyright does not apply to “any work of the U.S. Government” where “a work prepared by an officer or employee of the U.S. Government as part of that person’s official duties” (See, 17 U.S.C. §§ 101, 105).

Flory Jagoda was born in Sarajevo, Bosnia, a member of the Sephardic Jewish community. When the Sephardic Jews were forced into exile from Spain and Portugal in the 15th century, many settled in other Mediterranean countries but preserved their native language, called Ladino. Through her grandmother, Jagoda learned songs that had been passed down in her family for generations. She also became familiar with the region’s Balkan cultural traditions. Jagoda escaped the destruction of Sarajevo’s Jewish community and came to the United States after World War II. She has been recognized as an important carrier of a unique musical heritage and also as a composer and arranger of new Sephardic songs. In addition to passing that tradition on to her children, she has taught many students who now perform Ladino music. Today, she tours widely and her music is circulated through recordings and in The Flory Jagoda Songbook. She is well known in the Washington, D.C. area for her willingness to perform at religious ceremonies, family celebrations and cultural events. Her performances are marked by musical beauty but also by her commitment to find meaning through affirmation of community in her personal experience.

The following (also here) is republished from the Library of Congress. This piece falls under under public domain, as copyright does not apply to “any work of the U.S. Government” where “a work prepared by an officer or employee of the U.S. Government as part of that person’s official duties” (See, 17 U.S.C. §§ 101, 105).

The American Folklife Center also significant documentation of Flory Jagoda, a traditional Sephardic singer and musician who fled her native Bosnia in 1941 to escape the Nazi invasion. While living in a relocation camp in Italy, Flory met U.S. army officer Harry Jagoda. They were married in 1946 and moved to northern Virginia, where Flory stayed until her death in 2021. To honor her family, most of whom were killed by the Nazis, Flory made it her life’s mission to preserve the songs, music, and Ladino language of her Sephardic family. She was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship by the NEA in 2002. AFC has recordings and photos of Flory Jagoda in seven collections, including two concerts and an oral history interview that are available online as webcasts. Flory was also an author and recording artist, and her works reside in collections across many divisions of the Library, including the Music Division, the Hebraic section of the African and Middle Eastern Division, and the National Audio Visual Conservation Center.