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90th anniversary of the birth of the famous folk singer Kostadin Gugov

Костадин Гугов
Photo: архив БНТ

Today we remember the famous folk singer Kostadin Gugov. Born on 12 February 1935 in Sofia to a family of refugees from Kilkis in the geographical region of Macedonia in Greece, Kostadin Gugov is still celebrated as one of the most authentic interpreters of Macedonian folk songs.

"I was lucky to grow up with the songs of my mother, Yova Trapkova. She was singing everywhere, bringing joy in the house, and I was memorizing song after song...” 

His first singing teacher was his relative Vangel Traickov, who advised him to sing with ease and without tension. He gave him more songs to learn, some of which are Kazhi, Kazhi Stara le Babo (Tell me, tell me, old woman) and Dremka Mi Se Dreme (Sweet slumber). 

The accordionist Stefan Demirev discovered the amazing voice of Kostadin Gougov and the then 18-year-old singer appeared on stage and gave concerts at home and abroad with the best singers and instrumentalists of the time, including Boris Karlov, Mita Stoicheva, Atanaska Todorova, Boris Mashalov. 

An exciting part of his repertoire are his songs with historical themes Ako Umra il Zagina (If I Die or Perish) as well as his humorous songs such as Zaiko Kukurayko, Me Sakaya (Many asked for my hand) and others. Gradually Kostadin Gugov's repertoire took shape with songs from the whole ethnographic region of Macedonia - the Aegean, Vardar and Pirin - the original Bulgarian territories, now divided into three countries.

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Radio Bulgaria Music    folklore kostadin gugov macedonia music

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