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Building a school and a national monument thousands of kilometres from home - a mission possible

A Memorial to the Holy Brothers Cyril and Methodius will be a unifying international centre in the Spanish city of Malaga

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Photo: asociacion-malaga-bulgaria.com

The first Bulgarian monument in the Kingdom of Spain will be inaugurated on 5 April, the eve of the Assumption of St Methodius for all Slavs and Bulgarians. It is dedicated to the holy brothers Cyril and Methodius and is located in a special place - in the park of the city of Málaga. It is located in a special place in Malaga. 

The monument was erected in Malaga on the occasion of two anniversaries: the 1160th anniversary of the completion of the first Slavonic alphabet, the Glagolitic alphabet, and the 43rd anniversary of Pope John Paul II's declaration of Saints Cyril and Methodius as co-patrons of Europe (30 December 1980).  In the words of the Pope, the two Slavic apostles are a bridge between East and West and have made an outstanding contribution to the cultural growth of the Old Continent and to the education of many generations of Europeans.

A large number of guests from Spain and Bulgaria attended the inauguration of the monument, which fulfils a long-held dream of the Bulgarian community in Malaga to hold an annual festival dedicated to Bulgarian culture. The initiative for the monument came from the Bulgarian Sunday School "Rodina" and the "Malaga-Bulgaria" Association. Together with the celebration of the Bulgarian Days festival, they want to develop Malaga as a pan-Slavic centre, where there is a place for unity and communication between peoples.

Radka Georgieva
"The idea came to us spontaneously. It was last year when we had our first high school graduates - that is, we had children who had started Sunday school in the first grade and had graduated. When we started to organise a graduation ceremony, we realised that we did not have a place where we could officially hand over the diplomas to the graduates," said Rada Georgieva, director of Rodina Sunday School - Malaga:

"We, from the Association Malaga-Bulgaria and the Rodina Sunday School, took this initiative. We contacted the other associations in Malaga, wrote a request, collected signatures, got permission from Malaga City Hall and then opened a donation account. Over the course of several months we collected the money. And now our idea, our dream has come to life. On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the festival "Bulgarian Days in Malaga", which we organise together with a Spanish association, we can inaugurate this monument to Saints Cyril and Methodius. 

Its author is Julian Ivanov. He is the father of one of our children and his wife is a teacher in a Bulgarian school. They live 30 km from our town. Like many other parents, they travel every Saturday so that their children can attend school. We are very happy that this father volunteered to build the monument himself, and the money we raised was actually for the materials to lay the foundation of the monument".


The Bulgarian Days in Malaga festival, organised by the Bulgarian Association with the help of Malaga City Council, takes place at the same time in early April. The concept is that there will be different groups of participants - from Bulgaria and many guests from Europe. 

The Rodina School is mainly involved in the concert part of the festival. There is also an exhibition of paintings, and visiting Bulgarian writers. "Everyone is welcome at the festival, and we also have the Creativity without Borders project. Our partner is the Bulgarian-Spanish centre "Estreya" from the city of Bourgas," says Rada Georgieva. 


"It is an interesting project involving Bulgarian and Spanish children. They write essays on a given topic. This year it was 'My city and the sea'. In the second stage, the Bulgarian children make illustrations based on the Spanish texts and the Spanish children draw on the Bulgarian essays. In this way, the Bulgarian Days in Malaga become a kind of cultural meeting. The concert programme this year includes Bulgarian groups from Belgium, and Spanish groups. In this way we present our Bulgarian traditions and heritage and our guests - the Bulgarians - meet the Spanish culture". 

Photos: Asociacion Malaga Bulgaria, glasnews.bg
Translated and posted by Elizabeth Radkova

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