"Shto me ne ozhenish, male" - favourite song of renowned singer Magda Pushkarova

The singing talents of the mystical Strandzha Mountain are many and they have preserved for generations the priceless folklore wealth of the southeastern Bulgarian region. Some of them, such as the unforgettable Yanka Rupkina (1938 - 2026), with their talent, made the Strandzha song world-famous. But the first singer with a huge contribution to the popularization of Strandzha folklore throughout Bulgaria is Magda Pushkarova. Magda was born about two decades before Rupkina - in April 1920, in Malko Tarnovo in a family of refugees from Edirne Thrace. Everyone in her family sang - parents, relatives, brothers, sisters. From them she learned a large part of her impressive repertoire. "Wherever I have travelled in the world, Strandzha has been in my eyes, Strandzha blood has pulsed in my heart and I have always sung the songs of Strandzha," Pushkarova once said in an interview.

Poet Assen Raztsvetnikov calls her "the enchantress of Strandzha songs". Her contributions to the preservation and dissemination of Strandzha traditions are enormous, which is why folklore competitions and ensembles bear her name today. During her lifetime, she received many awards.

Pushkarova was among the performers who toured Bulgaria with concert programs. She loved to sing the songs of her region but she often told legends and tales form Strandzha and was very proud of the fact that her grandfather was among the rebels of Captain Petko Voivoda.

Her family was large and poor, so she studied only until the fourth grade and at the age of 11 she started working in a tobacco factory. She married, but was widowed early. After some time, she married young officer Asen Pushkarov. They moved to the capital and in November 1944 she auditioned at Radio Sofia. The committee included composer Boyan Ikonomov, conductor Ivan Kavaldzhiev, and folk singer Zhecho Dolchinkov, who applauded the previously unheard Strandzha melodies and voice. Magda was invited to sing "live" in front of the radio's microphones.

In 1951, she, together with Valkana Stoyanova and Yordanka Ilieva, was among the founders of the National Folklore Ensemble in Sofia and was appointed by Filip Kutev as the leading voice. She became a star on the stage. During her life Magda Pushkarova enjoyed the immense love of the audience and well-deserved recognition from specialists. She left more than 100 recordings in the Bulgarian National Radio collection, several records and television shows. The archives of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences store 200 of her songs, recorded by renowned ethnomusicologist Elena Stoin. The great singer wore silk costumes and gold jewelry until her last day, remaining dignified and proud, with a majestic posture, in love with flowers, songs from Strandzha and Bulgaria.

Pushkarova's unique alto voice – slightly muffled, velvety, warm and soft, cannot be confused with that of any other singer. Her songs are beautiful, but also sad, as was the life of the refugees from Edirne Thrace. "I have many songs, I love many songs," she said during her lifetime. "But I have a special relationship with one. This is ‘Shto me ne ozhenish, male’. I am a descendant of refugees; the song tells about their fate and I always relive this story…"

In the musical dialogue between mother and son, the young man wants to get married and asks his mother if she thinks he's too young and inexperienced, or maybe they don't have enough money for a new house? The mother replies that she would sell everything to build a home for her child, but they are refugees, strangers in this area and have no relatives to invite to the wedding, to give them gifts and to celebrate with loved ones. Along with the song "Tudoro, Tudoro" (dedicated to a beautiful female nestinar), "Shto me ne ozhenish, male" is among the most popular songs from Magda Pushkarova's repertoire.