Tvardica, “Shepherd”

Tvarditsa is a small city within the Thracian region, which used to have flourishing mining industry and a population of ten thousand. Now the city has merely half of its residents, among which mainly elderly citizens involved in traditional agriculture.

Grandpa Ivan has been a shepherd his whole life – gathering the herds before sunrise, working under the burning mountain-sun day after day, and returning home just before sunset. Among the grasslands of the Thracian valleys, under the thick shadow of the plum trees, diado Ivan takes the kaval from his pocket and paints a world of his own – a musical narrative and the essence of folklore. The grass shimmers and the hills echo the melody of his kaval. It sings about the past, about his youth, about his mother’s loving arms and the cherry lips of his first love.