Slavi Trifonov's first appearance on the TV show Ku-Ku was as the viola player in a heavy metal parody sketch. He went on to front a weeknight show that millions watched, and a political party that came first in a national election, which is rather a career arc. Today is his birthday, and the calendar around it is quite crowded: a martyred saint, an evangelist and a good many Zlatkas.
What happened on this day
Slavi Trifonov (born Stanislav Todorov Trifonov) arrived in Pleven on 18 October 1966, and by his own account it was a lonely childhood, with few friends beyond his sister Petya, three years older. Things changed at a pioneer camp in Kaylaka Park, where he signed up for the talent night and told jokes he had learned by heart from an unofficial Dimitar Shkumbata tape, one played over and over on a Yupiter tape recorder. The audience called for an encore. He calls it a turning point in his life, which, given what followed, seems fair.
The headline number is 4,176, the edition count when Slavi's Show signed off from bTV on 31 July 2019. It had started on 27 November 2000, and Bulgarian Wikipedia calls it the country's first daily evening television show; in the early years it drew between two and three million viewers a night. The recipe was topical jokes, guests, and the Ku-Ku Band setting the day's topics to live music, so picture a weeknight chat show whose house band sets the news to music. It made news of its own, too. In 2005 Trifonov and his duet partner Sofi Marinova took part in Bulgaria's national Eurovision final, and when their turn came he announced they were withdrawing because, he said, the vote was being manipulated with SIM cards. Anyone who has ever shouted at a Eurovision scoreboard will sympathise.
Today's name days
The Zlata names share the day with Zlata of Meglen, an 18th-century saint who, according to her life story, was abducted, refused to convert to Islam and was hanged on 18 October 1795. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church marks her today, while several other Orthodox churches keep 13 October. In 2009 she was named heavenly protector of Bulgarian women living abroad. Luka shares the date with the Apostle and Evangelist Luke, a physician and friend of Paul who wrote the third Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles; tradition adds that he painted the first icons. The painter Luca Giordano, an Italian bearer of the name, was born on this day in 1634.
The full list runs to Zlata, Zlatka, Zlatina, Zlatko, Zlatan, Zlatomir, Luka and Lukan, so a neighbour, a colleague or a classmate's parent may well be celebrating. Our Bulgarian name-days guide explains the custom, and the phrasebook has more Bulgarian greetings.
The rules are open-house: nobody needs an invitation, nobody arrives empty-handed, and flowers should come in odd numbers. Say честит имен ден (chesh-TEET ee-MEN den) and bring something small.
Why this matters for British expats
Slavi is a compact education in modern Bulgarian public life, so his name is worth recognising. In 2019 he set up a political party, There Is Such a People (Има такъв народ, EE-ma ta-KUV na-ROD), that came second in April 2021 and first in July 2021, though he was not a candidate himself that summer. At the votes in April 2023, June 2024 and October 2024 he headed lists and each time asked not to be declared elected, an unusual way to lead a parliamentary party. Worth watching how that plays out. No Shumen connection turns up in the record, so this one is cultural literacy rather than local pride, but it will help you follow the next political conversation you overhear in a queue.
Sources and further reading
This piece draws on the Bulgarian Wikipedia entry on Slavi Trifonov, read alongside the English entry and the Bulgarian pages on Zlata of Meglen, Luke the Evangelist and the date itself. Election results and later political moves are given as those pages record them, so check the news for anything newer.