Historical Bulgarian of the Week - Silvia Dimitrova
Saturday, May 17, 2008
The weeks post will be about another artist. I must say that I am really very impressed with the painters, sculptors and writers that this country has produced. They continue to blow my away. The more I learn about the more surprised I am. Great art comes from this country and it has so for many years. Take for example this weeks Historical Bulgaria:
Silvia Dimitrova, which is "Силвия Димитрова" in Bulgarian (CLICK HERE FOR HER OFFICIAL WEBSITE), was born in 1970 in the town of Pleven, she is a painter of icons, as well as a few other, more contemporary works. Icons are very important here in Bulgaria, which is largely Bulgarian Orthodox in religion and she is recognized as one of the best.
According to her web-site, where most of this information came from, "She works in the traditional technique of icon painting - egg tempera on wood, and her work covers the whole spectrum of traditional Bulgarian icons and original works". Below I have included some samples of her Icons:
She has held a solo exhibition in Rueil-Malmaison, a suburb of Paris in 1997. In 1999 she was commissioned by a monastery in Wells called "Downside Abbey", which was completed shortly before the outbreak of WWI, to pain the Icon of St. Benenict (Pictured below).
She then began working, in 2000, at the Wells Cathedral as an artist-in-residence where she painted the 14 Stations of the Cross. In the same year she was nominated for a "European Women of Achievement" Award in the field of Arts. In that same year she had work displayed at St. Paul's Cathedral in London and Hertford College in Oxford.
For a long and detailed list of her more notable exhibitions and commissions feel free to go to her web-site.
Her is a brief sample of some of her secular work:
A quote on her work: "Silvia Dimitrova's art is a vibrant gift from God to people of various Christian traditions and also to those who do not yet believe. Her two styles of traditional Bulgarian icons and modern love paintings, the sacred and the secular, enrich and influence each other. They are inspiring in their profundity and fecundity."
Canon Dr Graham Kings,
Vicar of St Mary Islington
She currently lives and works in the United Kingdom.
Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed.
Until next time this is Kashkaval Pane signing off.
Posted byPavel at 1:51 PM 1 comments
Labels: Art, Bulgarian History, religion
Historical Bulgarian of the Week - Christo Vladimirov Javacheff
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Christo Vladimirov Javacheff, better known simply as "Christo", was born on June 13th in the year 1935 in the town of Gabrovo. In the mid-1950s he studied at the Fine Arts Academy in Sofia and in 1957 he spent a semester at the Vienna Fine Arts Academy.
Moving to Paris in 1958 he meet his future wife and constant work-assossiate Jeanne-Claude, who was born Jeanne-Claude Denat de Guillebon on June 13, 1935, in Casablanca. Together they would create many pieces of art ranging many dealing with environmental projects that involve "elements of architecture, sculpture, painting and urban planning".
Samples of their work are the wrapping of the Reichstag in Berlin, the Pont Neuf Bridge in Paris, the Gates in Central Park, Ney York City, the Surrounded Islands in Miami, Florida, and the Running Fence in Marin and Sonoma Counties, California.
On May 11th of 1960 they had a son named Cyril, May 11. He went on to study at Cornell University and Columbia University in 1982. Publishing five books of poetry.
Stacked Oil Barrels, Dockside Packages at Cologne Harbor.,
Iron Curtain-Wall of Oil Barrels, Rue Visconti, Paris, 1961-62
The family packed up and moved to New York City in 1964. There they began working on many incredible and interesting pieces in America, such as; Wrapped Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago., 
Wrapped Floor and Stairway. Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago., 
The Umbrellas, Japan-U.S.A., 1984-91., 
Over The River, Project for The Arkansas River, Colorado.As well as continuing many international projects as well such as Wrapped Fountain and Wrapped Medieval Tower, Spoleto, Italy, Wrapping of a Public Building "Wrapped Kunsthalle Berne 1967-1968", 5,600 Cubicmeter Package, Documenta 4, Kassel, Germany 1967-68
Wrapped Coast, Little Bay,, Wrapped Monuments, Milano: Monument to Vittorio Emanuele, Piazza del Duomo, Milano, Italy., Monument to Leonardo da Vinci, Piazza della Scala, Milano, Italy., Valley Curtain, Grand Hogback, Rifle, Colorado, 1970-72,, The Wall, Wrapped Roman Wall, Via V. Veneto and Villa, Borghese, Rome, Italy.
The Pont Neuf Wrapped, Paris, 1975-85.
Wrapped Reichstag, Berlin, 1971-95.
Wrapped Trees, Fondation Beyeler and Berower Park, Riehen-Basel, Switzerland 1997-98. The Wall,13,000 Oil Barrels, Gasometer, Oberhausen, Germany,1998-99.
One of, if not their most, famous pieces of works is The Gates, Central Park, New York City, 1979-2005. Which consists of "7,503 vinyl gates, with free-flowing nylon fabric panels, anchored to 15,006 steel bases on 37 kilometers", or 23 miles for those folks in America, of walkways.
Feel free to check out his web-site by CLICKING HERE. It is full of information and in English, which is a definate plus. If your appitite for Christo has not been satisfied feel free to read more information HERE.I hope you all enjoyed this weeks edition and that you all had a fantastic Europe Day yesterday!
Take care and until next time this is Kashkaval Pane.
4ao 4ao.
Posted byPavel at 1:26 PM 0 comments
Labels: Art, Bulgarian History
Historical Bulgarian of the Week - Пейо Яворов:
Saturday, May 3, 2008
The day of this blog writing I happen to be in the beautiful city of Chirpan.
For this reason I chose one of the cities famous sons... and no I am not writing about fellow PCV Jimmy Wall
This weeks episode is one of Bulgarias most famous poets, Peyo Yavorov. He lived from January of 1878 until October 1914, living only until the age of 36.
Yavorov lived a short and traumatic life, however, despite this most of his poems were romantic ones dedicated to his two greatest loves.
One died from tubercolosis and the other, whome he married, shot herself in 1912. Yavorov attempted to commit suicide by shooting himself in the head. Instead the bullet went through his tempal leaving him blind. Yavorov eventually took no precautions and poisoned and then shot himself in 1914.
Picture of the statue of Peyo in the town of Chirpan:
Here are two poems of his, translated into English (Sidenote1- Not translated by me but I cannot credit who did as the web-site I found them had no credit attributed to this work):
COME!
Your eyes to starry skies I shall compare
Your hair to the transparent veil
Of a late evening, such is your hair!
The scent that lingers round your maiden mouth
Is fresh, invigorating as the South,
……A breeze that browses in a flowery dale.
So come, the day is cold and dead.
The moonlit night, hair tumbling round your eyes,
Lower your head
And breathe into my face,
Come, warm my chilly heart with your embrace –
This moonlit night, beneath the starry skies.
TWO SOULS
I do not live: I burn. In acrimony raging
Two souls are duelling within my breast:
The soul of a devil, the sould of an angel.
Their breathing is flame and it gives me no rest.
Not one flame bursts but two – whatever I am touching,
And in each stone two heartbeats I hear clash …
Whereever I go there’s an odious doubling
Of two warring faces, which vanish in ash.
And everywhere the wind that follows me is spreading
The ashes: all my footprints are effaced.
For I am not living – I burn! – and am shedding
A trail of grey ashes across a dim waste.
Thanks for tuning in... until next time this is Kashkaval Pane signing off.
Posted byPavel at 4:02 PM 1 comments
Labels: Bulgarian History
Historical Bulgarian Of The Week - Hristo Stoichkov:
Saturday, April 26, 2008
If you are wondering why out of thousands of years of history that this country and this land has to its credit why I choose to write this weeks blog on a footballer then you have never been to Europe.
Football, or soccer to our American readers, is the biggest game in the world and if you live in any country other than America you are surrounded by it daily. In my case I think I talk more football than politics with Bulgarians. For that reason, here is one of Bulgarias most famous and historical figures, Hristo Stoitchkov.
Hristo Stoitchkov ("Христо Стоичков Стоичков" in Bulgarian), also known as "Itso", was born in Plovdiv, Bulgaria in February of 1966 where he "was born with a ball between his feet." His father played goalie for a local team by the name of Maritsa, Hristo would play Forward during his entire professional career.
Stoitchkovs love for football (футбол) like most Europeans, began at a very young age when he was ball boy for his fathers team. By 1977, at the young age of 10 he began playing for the same team as his father! Shortly thereafter he attracted CSKA, one of Bulgarias best teams, where he played from 1986-1989.
In his first full season they won the Championship Cup of Bulgaria. In 1989 he won the Golden Boot for Top Goal Scorer in Bulgaria with 23 goals, helping CSKA reached the semifinals of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (also known as the European Cup Winners' Cup).
In their semifinal game they lost to Barcelona, however, Barcelona Coach Johan Cruyff was signed Hristo to a five-year contract worth $4.5 million!
From 1990 until 1994, Stoitchkov scored over 100 goals for Barcelona helping them win the Championship of the Primera Division in everyone of those four years. In international competitions he was playing for the Bulgarian National Team where they qualified for their first World Cup!
In 1994, Parma from Italy paid $15 million for his rights from Barcelona. He played for them for only one year. I was unable, despite intense research, to find out why so if anyone knows I would love to hear why. Returning in 1997 to Barcelona they won many titles; the Spanish Championship, Spanish Super Cup, Spanish King's Cup and the European Cup.
Five times he was voted Bulgarian Football Player of the Year, and from all accounts he became a national hero! The big awards were in 1992 and 1994 where he won the Golden Ball for "Best Football Player in Europe" once, the Golden Onze for "Best Football Player in the World" once, finishing second another time and FIFA awarded him the Silver Globe for the "Second Best Football Player in the World" in 1992 and 1994.
Stoitchkov, like many Bulgarians, moved to Chicago to join the Major League Soccer team the Chicago Fire in 2000. He has helped the Fire win the MLS Cup Finals and to a two US Open Cup title in three years being named to Soccer America's Team of the Week 6 times!
All this while only standing 1.78 meters (5'9" for our American readers) and weighing in at 165 lbs. I think, however, Hristo, despite all his success would have meet his match had he faced the PCV team that assembled in Chirpan recently named in Bulgarian "I AM MAN":
"Soccer is simple…. Your movement on the field is important, and you have to have the right mentality, fighting in every game, in every practice, for every ball." - Hristo Stoichkov.
-Kashkaval Pane
For more information you can go to Hristo Stoichkovs Official Web-site LOCATED HERE
For highlight video of Hristo CLICK HERE
Posted byPavel at 8:11 PM 2 comments
Labels: Bulgarian History
Historical Bulgarian of the Week - Todor Jivkov:
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Todor Hristov Jivkov (or "Toдор Xpиcтoв Живков" in Bulgarian) was born on the 7th of September in the year of 1911 in the city of Pravets, (Shaded area on the map below). He lived until he was 87 years old, passing away on the 5th of August in 1998.
Todor was the first secretary of the ruling Bulgarian Communist Party's Central Committee. He started in the year 1954 and continued until 1989. He was than President of Bulgaria from 1971 until 1989. Serving 35 years as the ruler of Bulgaria made the longest-serving of any leaders in any of the Soviet-bloc nations in Eastern Europe.
Legend has it that he was the son of poor peasants. He went into Sofia as a child and joined a youth league that was outlawed by the Communist party called the "Komsomol".
He slowly gained in position in the party and during World War II he helped to organize the resistance movement known as the People's Liberation Insurgent Army. After the war, in 1951, when there was instated the Soviet backed communist government, he became a full member of the Politburo.
From 1951 until the early sixties he quickly rose in position and status whereas by 1962 to 1971 Jivkov was premier of Bulgaria. Towards the latter years of his life he was voted president of the State Council that formed Bulgaria's constitution.
Jivkovs beliefs followed closely to those of the Soviet Union in regards to domestic policy and foreign affairs. Jivkov was a pretty decent leader, at least monetarily, and the standard of living rose substantially.
In 1989, after the fall of the many communist governments in Eastern Europe, Jivkov resigned. Then arrested in January 1990 and he was convicted of embezzlement in 1992 be handed a seven years prison sentence.
However, proof that "old Commies die hard", he came back and in 1998 he, like many other former Bulgarian communist leaders, became a member of the Socialist Party. He passed away that very same year.
Jivkov has made a mark on the Bulgarian political scene, being a major part of it for nearly 40 years, and is one of Bulgarias most known politicians. Thanks for reading, I hope you all have a happy Saturday.
Take care.
-Kashcaval Pane
PS- To show you the wonderful powers of Google, when I went searching for pictures of Mr. Jivkov I found the item pictured below... Mr. Todor Jivkovs signature?!?!?
Posted byPavel at 8:20 PM 1 comments
Labels: Bulgarian History
Historical Bulgarian of the Week - Vasil Levski:
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
If you are a Bulgarian, a member of Peace Corps Bulgaria and/or moderately aware of Bulgarian History, you already know who this man is.
Vasil Levski (in Bulgarian is "Васил Левски") is by far the most popular figure in all of Bulgaria. His name is known by both young and old. Stories of his life and times are commonly told as his legacy is passed down from generation to generation.
I would argue that no more famous Bulgarian has ever lived or will ever live. Vasil Levski is the mother of all Bulgarian Historical figures, and I embark on this grave quest, wishing to do his legacy justice I need you dear readings to wish me health, happiness and luck!
To further explain how big of a deal writing a post on Levski is to the non-Bulgarian readers I will parallel him to an American Historical figure. Abe Lincoln? No, too honest (or was he?!?!)...
and too beardy!
Kennedy? Nope, not revolutionary enough. 
(Example: Would a revolutionary be hanging out on his sail boat alone the coast of Maine? I most certainly think not!)
Ben Franklin? Nah, too wimpy. 
...and plus, he wanted the turkey to be the national bird?!?!
George W. Bush? 
(Picture taken in 2003 aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln) Not smart enough, but the name is closer. Try again.
George Washington? Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!
If I had to chose the closest American historical figure to Bulgaria's Levski, I would have to pick George Dub-yah! Well at least I think so.
No Levski did not chop down any Cherry Trees...
However, they both had long, lasting legacies. Their names are synonymous with the histories of their countries. They both sacrificed as much as they could for their respective countries and in return will be taught about in schools until the end of time.
Not to mention that they both have everything possible named after them. For example George Washington has the Washington Monument, as well as...
...the greatest of all 50 states, and another famous thing named after George Washington is...
...Denzel Washington...
And for Mr. Levski?
One of the Bulgarian National Football teams...
Too many statues to count...
The largest stadium in Bulgaria (Where I will see Mettallica play during the month of July!)
...Levski has even inspired Bart Simpson (Even if this is in reference to the Football team I still had to post it as I found it extremely amusing)!
...In the 1990's he graced the 1,000 Leva Bill...
...he has been figured on postage stamps...
...and of course, in a country filled with statues, he has graced hundreds and hundreds if not thousands of statues...
Levski names also hit me close to home as my work is located on Vasil Levski Street and the football field that doubles as a baseball field for my baseball team is at Vasil Levski High School and so on, and so on it goes...
Vasil Levski, was born under the name "Vasil Ivanov Kunchev" (or "Васил Иванов Кунчев" in Bulgarian) on either 18 July or 6 July in the year of 1837 in the city of Karlovo, Bulgaria (Sidenote- Blogs from Peace Corps Volunteers from Karalvo can be found here; Cindy McCoy and Eric Wiley).
What did he do that was so special? So incredible that years after his death his name is mentioned every where? One web-site in brief had this to say, "[Levski was a] revolutionary, ideologist, strategist and theoretician of the Bulgarian national revolution and leader of the struggle for liberation from Ottoman rule".
Another web-site mentioned his love for Bulgarian and Bulgarians love for him, saying "All Bulgarians have loved and love him unconditionally. The doors of every Bulgarian house were open for him at all times. He had no close friends, no family, no home, and no personal life. His only thought his only love, his only passion was Bulgaria".
Lets start at the beginning...
As I mentioned before young Vasil was born in Karlovo in 1837. At the time Karlovo was than a "prosperous center of craft-industry". He earned two nicknames from a very young age that will forever be associated with his name.
One is "The Deacon" because at age 24 (1861) he took the vows of... yeah you guessed it, a Deacon. However, "the lot in store for the young Bulgarian was obviously not the one of a monk living in resignation to the world". Apparently not for religious reasons, as he continued to mention God in his writings until the day he died, he fled to Serbia after one year (1862) to join the liberation movement.
The other was his new last name, "Levski" which means "like a lion" in Bulgarian, and most likely the reason why lions are one of Bulgarias national symbols even being located on the Bulgarian Coat of Arms:
Some kids here have even told me that the country of Bulgaria ITSELF is shaped like a lion:
How he inspired the name "Levski" was told by one web-site really well, "Vasil had got the nickname Levski during his service in the First Bulgarian legion (...) in Belgrad. One day during a training, the young legionnaires were jumping over a deep ditch. Like a lion, Vassil had jumped the farthest... [It was said,] 'That is a Levskii jump!' ". True or not, it is a great story and I like it!
Apparently Levski was very involved in the assult as a few web-sites claimed him to have, "participated in all (or "almost all" depending on the source) Bulgarian armed assaults against the Ottoman Empire" from 1862-1868. After that until 1872 Levski, came up with the idea, organized and helped to build the Internal Revolutionary Organization (IRO).
Levskis idea was to make the revolution truly a Bulgarian one. He wanted all of the soldiers to be Bulgarians and Bulgarians only. This was because foreign involvement had only been shown to bring "trouble and failure to the national revolutionary cause".
To do so Levski, and others, toured Bulgarian towns and villages to form a network of revolutionary committees to equip the men in their regions. These people were "usually peasants and craftsmen" by trade and they were taught how to use weapons and they were trained to fight.
During that same time he charted out his ideas for Bulgaria's future political system and his wish was for a democratic republic, one he called, "pure and holy", that would be based along the principles of the Human and Citizen Rights Charter of the French Revolution because he believed in the principles of freedom of expression, speech, association and religion. He made sure to reiterate that Bulgarian revolutionaries were fighting against the Sultan's government, not against the Turkish people and/or their religion and he had no tolerance for corruption (no comment on the current state of the Bulgarian Government... none).
In late 1872 Levski feel into the hands of the Turkish authorities. He was put on trial and sentenced to death by hanging. On 18 February 1873 Vasil Levski was hung.
The IRO committee that he had set up continued to function after his death. In 1876 there was the "April Uprising" which failed but lead the way for a war between Russian and Turkey called apropriately enough the Russo-Turkish War which took place in 1877-78 and eventually ended the "Turkish Yolk" after nearly 500 years.
Vasil Levski has inspired books and poems and poems such as the famous one by Historical Bulgarian of the Week #1 Hristo Botev, called "The Hanging of Vasil Levski". Recently one newspaper referred to this poem as having, "been recited and quoted at various occasions and every child knows of 'The Hanging of Vasil Levski' - one of the strongest poems of both past and present".
Here is that famous poem, translated into English:
The Hanging of Vasil Levski
O my Mother, dear Motherland
Why weep you so mournfully, so plaintively?
And you, raven, cursed bird -
On whose grave croak you with such a dread?
Ah, I know - I know you're weeping, Mother
Because you are a dismal slave,
Because your holy voice, Mother
Is a helpless voice - a voice in the wilderness.
Weep! There, near the edge of Sofia town
Stretches - I saw it - a dismal gallows
And one of your sons, Bulgaria
Hangs from it with a terrible power.
The raven croaks dreadfully, ominously
Dogs and wolves howl in the fields,
Old people pray to God with fervor
Women weep, children cry.
Winter croons its evil song,
Gales sweep thistle across the field
And cold and frost and hopeless weeping
Heep sorrow on your heart.
Translated by © Thomas Butler. All rights reserved!
Thank you all for reading. It has been a lot of work compiling this weeks entry but for a figure as important as Levski I knew it had to put in some time. I hope that I did the man justice. Take care everybody.
-Kashkaval Pane
Some of the many Web-Sites were I found information:
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=90525
http://www.answers.com/topic/vasil-levski
http://www.bgglobe.net/index.php?l=1&s=-2535
For the Web-Site for the Vasil Levski Museum (located in Karlovo, Bulgaria) in English CLICK HERE
Posted byPavel at 9:42 PM 4 comments
Labels: Bulgarian History
