Rizo Šurla

Rizo Šurla was born on 12 January 1922 in Ulcinj, then part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. His family belonged to the Afro-Albanian community of Ulcinj.[1] African slaves had been brought by the captains of the fleet of Ulcinj in the 18th century.[2] In the 19th century, they gained their freedom and began to integrate themselves in the local community. His father, Saidi, was a direct descendant of the first Africans who settled in Ulcinj and his mother, Fatima was a local from Ulcinj.[3] In his youth he was involved in boxing and worked as a waiter in Dubrovnik.[4] He then went to Belgrade, where he learned the craft of photography.[2] During World War II, he joined the Yugoslav Partisans.[5] After the war, he returned to Ulcinj, where he opened the first photographic studio in the city, which for a long time was the only one. In 1976 he played in the movie Jagoš and Uglješa.[3] He married a Montenegrin from Ulcinj named Nada Račić, with whom he had two children.[2]

He died on 11 February 2003 in his hometown. He was one of the last black representatives in the city.[2]