The most popular among them are the musical hits of Vasil Naydenov and Diana Express, but recently rock bands have also released tracks for the beloved city

 

The city under the hills undeniably manages to thrill anyone who visits it or experiences it in any way. A large part of us know by heart the short poem Plovdiv by the great Ivan Vazov, written in 1883, and quite a few like to sing along to Zamunda Banana Band's hit Gusto Maina. The history of the song is actually the following - in 1997 the singer wanted to "gift" the people living in Plovdiv with a song written especially in Plovdiv slang. This is how Georgi Minchev's Gusto, maina, Filibeto was born.

Apart from it, of course, you have probably also heard the Diana Express song Ballad of Plovdiv. Mitko Shterev shared in an interview years ago that he wrote the music in 1975 in one sitting after reading the verses.

Mitko Shterev again wrote the music for the next song, dedicated to the city under the hills. A little ballad about Plovdiv is from the album Adaptation and is performed by the great Bulgarian singer Vasil Naydenov.

The favorite of several generations of Plovdiv residents, Hristo Kidikov, also has several songs dedicated to the unforgettable Plovdiv. In 2016, he was even awarded the title Honorary Citizen of Plovdiv for his significant contribution to Bulgarian culture. Some of the songs are The city of the hills, Far from Plovdiv, Back in the years.

Two rock bands have also included our city as a theme in their work. The song This Eternal City is the work of The Doctors, and When I don't have you by Ivory Twilight was even presented at the Hills of Rock festival in the year when Plovdiv was the European Capital of Culture.

All of these songs exemplify how the wonderful city under the hills inspires all artists, regardless of genre. It manages to make everyone experience something different, and these are only some of the "fruits" of the feelings generated by Plovdiv.