Blagolazh, The Bulgarian Joketelling and Storytelling Competition

Reposted from my blog

While on a Fulbright Scholarship in Bulgaria in 2015, I performed in the Blagolazh, the storytelling and joketelling competition in Gabrovo, home of the House of Humor and Satire. In Bulgarian. Even before I began looking into coming to Bulgaria on a Fulbright grant, I dreamt of attending this event, part of the Biennial of Humor. The word "blagolazh" means "sweet lie," but it's different from US liars contests, where contestants invent the most outlandish stories. The rule was that the stories had to be folktales, nothing made up by the contestants. There were two themes this year: health and work, or the opposite of these (smoking, drinking, laziness).

The House of Humor and Satire in Gabrovo, Bulgaria

I first visited this wonderful museum in 1984. Outside the museum is a statue of Clever Peter, one of the Bulgarian tricksters—or is this Nasruddin Hodja, the Turkish trickster? Many of the stories about one are told about the other as well. I love it when the two tricksters meet up in one tale.

I submitted my application to the Blagolazh in March, appending two stories that I intended to tell. I wrote out my versions in Bulgarian and then my friend Tzveta kindly made them grammatically correct. In April, I was accepted as one of the tellers.

I arrived on Saturday. This was a busy day in town. The Biennial of Humor began with an international show of cartoons, photographs, engravings, etc. That evening there was an enormous parade. With the other guests, foreign and Bulgarian, I watched from reserved seats, then went to a fancy reception with the mayor. She was been in the parade dressed as Marilyn Monroe. The year before, she was Scarlett O'Hara.

We were due at the museum at 8:30 a.m., so I left the reception early, after conversations with Russian, Bulgarian and Turkish cartoonists.

In the morning, the museum was shimmering with excitement. First, children from Mickey Mouse Kindergarten (Мики Маус) performed for us, singing and dancing in traditional dress. I've noticed that this is a trend at many Bulgarian events.

Then there was the children's Blagolazh. The kids, age 4 to 12 with a couple of adult helpers, sat at big tables with microphones, like a press conference. They each told a story or a joke, encouraged by the audience.

After the jury awarded the prizes to the children, it was time for the grownups. After we took our seats at the tables, we introduced ourselves and the first round began. Some stories or jokes were told in dialect, some in standard Bulgarian. I understood a lot, but not all. I told a story about Nasrudin Hodja at the public baths to begin. Though the Hodja is the Turkish trickster, the Ottoman Empire extended into Bulgaria for 500 years, so his stories took root in Bulgaria as well.

I thought we were going to tell just one story and the jury would make a decision about the next round, but no, the jury invited us all to tell another short one. Uh-oh. I had two stories prepared in Bulgarian and the other was longer. Fortunately, my friend Roman (a street musician in Sofia) had told me a short Clever Peter story on Friday. I silently blessed him and told that story.

While the jury deliberated, some of the past winners told stories and jokes. They're no longer eligible to compete but came along for the fun.

To my surprise, I made it to the second round. I told the second Nasrudin Hodja story I had prepared. We were asked for another, so I told a joke. I got a laugh!

I thought we were going to have to do another story. In English, it would have been a snap. I've got a zillion stories in my head. In Bulgarian, it's a challenge. I was searching for one in my rattled brain and decided to explain that I didn't have another Bulgarian one but did have one from Vermont. The jury decided not to ask for another. Whew! While they went out of the hall to deliberate, we heard more from the past champions.

The grand winner was a young man, the youngest by far in the group, Orlin Kisyov (I think I was the second youngest, at 53). It's nice to have a new generation coming along! This is one reason it's important to have the children's Blagolazh. May they continue to tell stories!

Here's Orlin, with the director of the House of Humor and Satire, Tatiana Tsankova:

And a view of the older kids at the table.

Many of the contestants, including prize winner Snezhanka Doncheva, were in traditional Bulgarian dress. I wish we'd had a picture all together.

And I won the prize for "Vivid Presentation by a Foreigner." Yes, I was the only foreigner.

Not only did the House of Humor give us all a collection of stories from the 2013 Blagolazh, but they gave me a pile of books of stories and jokes. I was invited to visit the archives, which I did the day after the Blagolazh. I'm constantly bowled over by the generosity of Bulgarians, and the staff and direction at the House of Humor and Satire were no exception. Huge thanks especially to Veneta Georgieva-Kozareva and to the director, Tatiana Tsankova.

Apart from the prize of being included in this incredible event and hearing stories and jokes, I was given a Gabrovo clock. The time on the clock is 9:48. The hands run backwards!

My goals going into this event were to have fun and not to embarrass myself. I succeeded!