A book about the Bulgarians in Izvoarele, a commune in Prahova County, Muntenia, Romania, will be presented on Sunday at the village’s Cultural Centre, its author, Bianca Vasile, told the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA). The event is organized by the Bulgarian community in the municipality of Izvoarele, Teleorman County, the Izvoarele local administration, and the Union of Banat Bulgarians in Romania.
“This is one of the most significant moments since 1990, dedicated to the ethnic perspective of the Bulgarian community in Izvoarele. The book aims to shed light on a series of historical events that have shaped the community’s development and the ethnic consciousness of its residents, while also encouraging reflection on elements of identity that have been preserved or lost over time, and how these are reflected in the declaration of ethnic identity in population censuses,” Vasile said.
She added that the Bulgarians in Izvoarele are among the communities that have best preserved an archaic form of the Bulgarian language in southern Romania.
“However, the locality does not appear on Romania’s ethnic map, as residents of the municipality do not declare their Bulgarian ethnicity in censuses,” Vasile explained.
She added that following the book presentation, there will be an official opening of the Bulgarian Inn, where guests will be able to sample traditional dishes and view exhibitions of archival photographs, old newspapers, and traditional costumes from Ana Trifan and Petra Ilie’s collections.
Bianca Vasile is of Bulgarian descent. She was born in Izvoarele but has lived in Bucharest for the past 15 years. She works as a journalist and is one of the founders of the Bulgarian minority association in Izvoarele, Bulgarian Springs. She holds a degree from the Faculty of Political Science and is currently pursuing a PhD in political science, as well as another doctorate focusing on national minorities.
/RD/