Singing for Tourists

On Saturday, I went with Didi, Yulka, and the rest of the Folk Singing Group to a vineyard outside of town. Dressed in traditional costume with flowers pinned in our hair, we greeted a busload of tourists from Sofia with pitka (bread) dipped in salt, sang traditional songs (no worries, I didn't sing), danced horo, and passed around a buklitza full of wine (a traditional jug type thing). One of the men made a ceremonial cutting of the vines and pouring of wine on the earth. Then the tourists drank more wine from the women’s’ vineyards and ate banitsa. 

Pitka

Drinking tea and rakia before the tourists arrive 

 Participating in this experience was great. I borrowed a traditional dress, apron, and jumper from Didi and posed with tourists for pictures in between songs and after (I didn’t sing). It was sort of surprising, the ten singers, three men on instruments, and I were the only people from Chiprovtsi-the rest were tourists on a weekend excursion to the northwest. This was just a stop on the side of the road. Literally, it pulled off on the shoulder, tourists got out, drank and ate a little, danced some horo, and, after a few hours, re-boarded the bus and departed.

I chatted with some of the tourists and tour operators during pauses between songs. One of the tourists is part of an English language club in Sofia taught by a  Peace Corps volunteer who had attended on of the carpet weaving weekends at Yulka’s. Such a small world. I made introductions and boasted about Chiprovtsi’s history and culture. Hopefully, the tourism website I’m working on will be launched soon, then I’ll be able to send links instead of having to write super involved emails whenever I promise more details. Even so, I love sharing information about Chiprovtsi. I wish everyone would visit.

After the tourists left, we changed into our regular clothes and laid a table in the small trailer adjacent to the vineyard with banitsa, turshiya salad, karnachi, pumpkin seeds, cherries soaked in rakia, and of course wine. The next five hours I spent eating, drinking, and listening to ten women sing, tell stories, and make jokes.

Most of the women in the group are pensioners, and listening to them recount each others escapades as children before most people had telephones, it was amazing to think of all that they had seen. It was also hilarious to hear them bicker over the correct tunes for songs, sing funny songs, and wear ridiculous hats found on an old shelf.  As the sun was setting, we gathered our bags and walked to town singing, led by one of the women on drums. A  great ending to a lovely day.