Lyubka Rondova is one of the best-loved folk singers in Bulgaria; her performances have been giving folklore fans pleasure for over fifty years.

Here is a brief excerpt of an interview Lyubka Rondova gave when Songs of the Balkan War, the latest album she recorded as soloist of the Gotse Delchev ensemble, was released.

“I want to say hello to all my friends, relatives and fans from Europe and Canada, from USA and Australia who listen to Radio Bulgaria. And I know they do so, because I am constantly getting letters from all corners of the planet. People learn a lot from Radio Bulgaria and listen to Bulgarian music. I am happy that my voice is there to be heard as well. As a singer I am a happy woman. Life has taken a lot from me, but it has given me the power of singing. As one of the songs of my own composition goes: My life, my Golgotha I have turned into song.”

The renowned singer says she would like to thank all her fans who have chosen the name Smilyana for their daughters. “I can’t say how many there are, but I get calls from young parents to tell me they named their children after the beautiful girl from one of my most popular songs,” Lyubka Rondova says.

Lyubka Rondova was born in Shestevo village, now on Greek territory. She started singing her grandmother’s and her mother’s songs when she was a little girl – the only happy time of her childhood. The civil war of 1948 split the family up. Lyubka ended up among the refugee children who were taken out of Greece to the countries of the so-called socialist camp. She first went to Romania, then to Poland and ultimately settled in Czechoslovakia, where she graduated Slavic language and literature at the University in Prague. She has lived in Bulgaria since 1960, where her family gradually came together from all parts of the world. Lyubka started work as philologist and soloist of the first folklore ensemble in this country, Gotse Delchev.

Throughout her long years on stage, Lyubka Rondova has invariably enriched her repertoire with songs unknown to the audiences, songs that have never before been recorded. It is thanks to her efforts, that pieces from the collections of songs by the Miladinov brothers, Kouzman Shapkarev and other sources have been able to reach the broad public. She says there are more unpublished songs that have come down to her from her mother. She has also composed many songs with lyrics by Bulgarian poets. She has performed on several continents a countless number of times. For her work as singer she has been awarded numerous state distinctions like the orders of Stara Planina and Cyril and Methodius. In the spring of 2015 she was bestowed the Annual Folklore Awards lifetime achievement award for her contribution to Bulgarian folklore heritage.

English version: Milena Daynova