August 12-15, 2026

SAVE THE DATES!

Villa Verka invites you to workshops and concerts with songs from Bela Rechka!

In memory of Maria Goranova

Maria Goranova was the soul of the house that is now Villa Verka. We just celebrated 110 years of her birth.

Born on November 10, 1915, Maria Goranova was known as one of the best singers in Gorna Bela Rechka. Her voice echoed through the hills and meadows during every task—haymaking, grazing animals, grape harvesting—and everyone knew it was Maria.

This continued until September 23, 1966, when she received the news that her eldest son had died in a workplace accident while working in the Plakalnica mine.

She never sang again.

We never heard “Uina Marikya”( aunt Marikya, as we told her, her husband Boris and our grandmother Vanka have been brother and sister)  sing, but her smile, her hospitality, and her love for our family whenever we visited Bela Rechka left a lasting impression on us.

Since 2006, the house of Maria and Boris Goranov has been our home – since 2024 it has been called “Villa Verka”.

We want to express our immense gratitude that we live in and inherit this beautiful house through songs – and we invite you to sing along with us – her favorite songs, as well as the songs we have collected, brought, and learned in Bela Rechka over the years.

Full Program at Villa Verka website

The workshops and concerts are open to everyone and are free of charge.

Registration for the workshops is required by email: igalinaji@gmail.com