A Tribute to Lyubka Rondova

A nation that keeps its millennial history, did not come by chance in this world.
Lyubka Rondova

Today we celebrate the life and music of Lyubka Rondova, Bulgarian folk singer who was born in 1936 in Greece.  She is especially well known for her performances of folk songs from the Pirin region. She passed away on March 15, 2016 after a long illness.

Video #1 is a performance with Lyubka Rondova and Ilia Lykov of the song Цъфнало цвеке шарено ("Bright Flower Blowing" according to the webpage).  I think they were referring to blooming flowers, not blowing ones, but translations from Bulgarian can be a little strange sometimes. Or it could have been a typo.

The dance to this is lesnoto.



Lyubka Rondova was also fond of songs from Aegean (Greek) Macedonia.   Dimitrula Mou (My Dimitrula) is in Greek, from a recording done many years ago.

It is a happy song about going to the taverna to drink retsina  (wine made from pine resin).  To me, retsina smells and tastes like turpentine, but since the Greeks have been drinking it for over 2000 years, it is obviously an acquired taste.

The dance for this song is a devetorka.



Video #3 is a song that tells a story:  Belomorie, made for a documentary about Bulgarian refugees from Macedonia, Thrace and Dobrudja.  You can find the translation here.

Lyubka Rondova was a refugee child uprooted from her village during the Civil War in Greece. Most of the victims were children of Slavic language speakers who lived in the Greek province of Macedonia, and many of them died, along with their caretakers, during their journey out of the country.  They were resettled in refugee camps all over Eastern Europe.  Lyubka Rondova was sent to Poland, and later moved to Czechoslovakia before she rejoined her family in Bulgaria in 1960.



If you enjoyed this you may also like:

Voices from the Past: Classic Bulgarian Folk Songs, Part One and Two

The Best of the Bisserov Sisters (and Family)


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Variations on the Bulgarian Folk Dance Chichovo Horo

You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them.
Desmond Tutu

Today's post is written in memory of one of my favorite uncles. He passed on March 8, 2016 at the age of 85. He suffered from lung cancer during the last few years of his life and when the time came, he was ready. He had traveled extensively through Europe and Latin America and used to tell fascinating stories. I will miss him very much.

The featured dance is Chichovo Horo (Uncle's Dance). It is one of my favorites and the basic version is easy to learn by watching. I don't see too many folk dance groups in the States do it nowadays, although it is very popular in Bulgaria.

This dance can be done to different music, and in that respect it has much in common with another dance from the northern folklore region, Dunavsko Horo.

Chichovo is a member of the Čoček family of dances. I have seen Čoček danced to this piece during Balkan Music Night, a festival of music and dance celebrated every March in the Boston area.

Video #1 is a group of professional dancers in elaborate embroidered costumes.  The melody is the one most commonly associated with the dance.



In video #2 Daniel Spassov sings the song that goes with the music: Davai Chicho. This is an excerpt from a longer video Ide Duhovata Muzika (Here Comes the Brass Band).  If anyone out there can find me the lyrics and translation to the song it would be much appreciated.



This is one of the best versions of Chichovo I have seen on YouTube. The music for this dance is usually played by a brass band, but here the gaida (bagpipe), tupan (drum), and tambura (string instrument) dominate, along with singing. There is only one man performing with the women and he does all the fancy moves.  The actual dance starts at 1:38.



Video #4 is of a kids' group from Canada: Dimitrovche. They dance a different variation to music played by a brass band. Brass bands are very popular in Northern Bulgaria, and the composer, Diko Iliev, created many dance pieces for them.

The little girl is the real attention grabber here.  These kids have remarkable energy!



If you enjoyed this you may also like:

Same Dance, Different Music: Dunavsko Horo

Here Comes the Brass Band!

Three Variations on a Bulgarian Folk Dance: Chetvorno Horo

Having a Blast with Diko Iliev

The Alien Diaries will be taking a short break for the rest of March.  I will be posting again in early April. You can catch up on the other 300 posts :)  Enjoy!


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Variations on the Bulgarian Folk Dance Chichovo Horo

You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them.
Desmond Tutu

Today's post is written in memory of one of my favorite uncles. He passed on March 8, 2016 at the age of 85. He suffered from lung cancer during the last few years of his life and when the time came, he was ready. He had traveled extensively through Europe and Latin America and used to tell fascinating stories. I will miss him very much.

The featured dance is Chichovo Horo (Uncle's Dance). It is one of my favorites and the basic version is easy to learn by watching. I don't see too many folk dance groups in the States do it nowadays, although it is very popular in Bulgaria.

This dance can be done to different music, and in that respect it has much in common with another dance from the northern folklore region, Dunavsko Horo.

Chichovo is a member of the Čoček family of dances. I have seen Čoček danced to this piece during Balkan Music Night, a festival of music and dance celebrated every March in the Boston area.

Video #1 is a group of professional dancers in elaborate embroidered costumes.  The melody is the one most commonly associated with the dance.



In video #2 Daniel Spassov sings the song that goes with the music: Davai Chicho. This is an excerpt from a longer video Ide Duhovata Muzika (Here Comes the Brass Band).  If anyone out there can find me the lyrics and translation to the song it would be much appreciated.



This is one of the best versions of Chichovo I have seen on YouTube. The music for this dance is usually played by a brass band, but here the gaida (bagpipe), tupan (drum), and tambura (string instrument) dominate, along with singing. There is only one man in this ensemble and he does all the fancy moves.  The actual dance starts at 1:38.



Video #4 is of a kids' group from Canada: Dimitrovche. They dance a different variation to music played by a brass band. Brass bands are very popular in Northern Bulgaria, and the composer, Diko Iliev, created many dance pieces for them.

The little girl is the real attention grabber here.  These kids have remarkable energy!



If you enjoyed this you may also like:

Same Dance, Different Music: Dunavsko Horo

Here Comes the Brass Band!

Three Variations on a Bulgarian Folk Dance: Chetvorno Horo

Having a Blast with Diko Iliev

The Alien Diaries will be taking a short break for the rest of March.  I will be posting again in early April. You can catch up on the other 300 posts :)  Enjoy!


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Post #300: The Songs of Binka Dobreva

God sent his Singers upon earth
With songs of sadness and of mirth,
That they might touch the hearts of men,
And bring them back to heaven again.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

This week marks the 300th post and the sixth year of The Alien Diaries. When I started this blog in 2010, I never expected it to go for so long!

In honor of International Women's Day on March 8, today's featured artist is Binka Dobreva from Bulgaria. She performs traditional as well as modern folk songs.

According to Bulgarian Wikipedia, she celebrates her 56th birthday on March 11. She has performed with the Filip Kutev Ensemble and The Mystery of Bulgarian Voices.

Binka Dobreva wears a really strange outfit in video #1. Fashion has come a long way since 1995, when this video was recorded.

Some people who design women's clothes really need to have their eyes examined. The plaid jacket (at 1:00) is totally ugly and makes her shoulders much too wide. Her hair is way too big, (but not as bad as a certain Republican presidential candidate whose name will not be mentioned here.)

She was definitely in need of one of those What Not to Wear makeovers. A folk costume would have suited her much better.

The song is Gergana. The dance to it is Pravo Horo, a very popular dance from Bulgarian Thrace (Trakia).



Let's fast forward 15 years to 2010. Binka Dobreva looks like a new woman! She is like fine wine, and ages well :)  The hairstyle and the clothing are much more becoming than in Video #1.

The song, Хайде всички на хорото (translation: Let's all Dance the Horo) is something that makes you want to get up and dance.



Binka Dobreva is a versatile artist and extremely talented. She does equally well with traditional as well as modern songs.  The next song is a beautiful ballad about woman whose husband left her to fight the Ottoman Turks: Daniova Mama Dumashe (Danio's mother said...)

She's accompanied by the Mystery of Bulgarian Voices choir.



The translation is verbatim from the person who posted the video on YouTube.  I take no responsibility for spelling errors.

Danio's mother was saying Danio,
my son, Danio I'm tired my dear,
I can't stand it I'm tired my dear,
I can't stand it your fahther's anger
your father's sorrows
When you were in the craddle your father left me and went to the Balkan (to the mountain, to fight Ottomans)
I looked for you my dear,
I raised you when you grew up you went to the Balkan too.
Come here, my dear, come here I wanna make your weddings
to have joy with dauthers-in-law
To watch my daughters-in-law and to raise little grandsons.

If you enjoyed this, you may also like:

The Women of Bulgarian Folk Songs

Valya Balkanska in Concert

Bulgarian Singing Demystified


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Martisor: A Romanian Spring Celebration

photo: Snowdrop Martisor, from Wikipedia

She turned to the sunlight
And shook her yellow head,
And whispered to her neighbor:
"Winter is dead.
A. A. Milne

Spring will be here soon! Today's post features songs and dances about Martisor, celebrated on March 1 in Romania.

Martisor is also a red and white decoration such as a bracelet or brooch worn during the month of March, to celebrate the arrival of spring. There is a similar holiday in Bulgaria on March 1, Baba Marta Day. The main difference is that the Romanian holiday was originally a New Year celebration (the ancient Romans celebrated the New Year on March 1).  The Bulgarian celebration honors a mythical figure, Baba Marta, and people wear adornments called Martenitsa in order to please Baba Marta so that spring will come early. These are given to friends and relatives for good luck and health.

The first video is of a children's group, who perform two songs and a dance in honor of Martisor. The dance is called Hora Martisorului. Notice the stigaturi (shouts), these are typical of Romanian folk dances.



Video #2 is a pop-folk song with all the ladies dressed in red and white, titled Martisor, which is another one of those earworms that will take up residence in your head for hours. If you are a regular visitor to this blog, you have listened to lots of them.  The song is lively and cheerful, and although I couldn't find the lyrics or a translation it's well worth a listen. From what I can gather it's about the arrival of spring (primavara in Romanian).

Not only are they dressed for the holiday, they're carrying bunches of flowers as well.  The costumes are a bit on the sexy side...eye candy for the guys?



Video is a group of  young dancers from Calarasi, in southern Romania, dancing a sirba in honor of spring, followed by a medley of other traditional dances. The "embroidery" on the screen behind the dancers will get your attention.



If you enjoyed this you may also like:

Crossing the River Part Three: The Bulgarian Martenitsa and the Romanian Martisor

Everything You Always Wanted to Know about the Martenitsa (but were afraid to ask)

The "Flavors" of Romanian Sirba


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

The Clones of Chetvorno Horo

If you are successful, you will be cloned. That's life. In fact, it's a sign that you've made it when clones of your website, mobile app, and business start cropping up.
Fred Wilson

The Bulgarian folk dance Chetvorno Horo is very popular, judging from the number of variations I've seen on YouTube.  There are also clones of this dance that go by different names.  Today you will see two examples.

The first is Denjovo Horo from north-central Bulgaria, near Gabrovo, a town whose symbol is the cat with the cut-off tail.  There is a museum called the House of Humor and Satire, which is a big tourist attraction.

Denjovo Horo is named after a man named Denjo, who was probably the best dancer in the village. Bulgarian folk dances are usually named after cities, towns, districts and people.

The dance has four distinct figures and the rhythm is 7/16 (pineapple-apple-apple).  The leader can either call the steps or do them in a specific sequence.



Another Chetvorno-type dance is Ripna Maca (the cat leaped). It starts with the basic Chetvorno step and follows with three other variations. Like the previous dance, the leader can call the steps, either in order or random.

The name Chetvorno most likely originated from the Bulgarian word for four: "chetiri" in Bulgarian.  In Cyrillic it looks like this: четири. If you look closely, the first letter resembles the number 4.



If you enjoyed this you may also like:

Three Variations on the Bulgarian Folk Dance: Chetvorno Horo

Dancing in Sevens (part one)

Bulgarian Folk Dances Named After Cities and Towns


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

A Romani Potpourri Part Three

As the mother teaches her children how to express themselves in their language, so one Gypsy musician teaches the other. They have never shown any need for notation.
Franz Liszt

The Roma people have made a big contribution to the music and dance of Eastern Europe.  They are also known by the politically incorrect term "gypsies." (If you click on the link to the Voice of Roma site, you'll see that Esma  has a U.S. tour planned for Spring 2016. She is a fantastic singer from the Republic of Macedonia and you can read about her in the first post below).

Today's post features two Romani dances from Serbia and Romania.

Video #1 features the dance Opa Cupa  from Serbia.  The lyrics describe a man who's very popular with the women, except for one who refuses to dance with him.

Opa Cupa is very popular with brass bands.  This version, with live music, is slightly different.



Video#2 is Ca la Mahala  from Romania. I couldn't find the lyrics to this song, which is one I would file under the category "earworm."

Unfortunately, the word "mahala" in Romanian has a negative connotations and describes a slum or ghetto, what we would call "the hood" in the United States. In Romania, the Roma live in the rough areas of town under horrible conditions, often without proper sanitation. There is a problem with drug use and crime, the by-products of poverty and discrimination.

Roma people originally came from India and migrated west towards Europe. To this day they have no country to call their own.



If you enjoyed this you make also like

A Romani Potpourri (part one)

Balkan Dances that are Often Confused


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.