site.btaBulgarian Honorary Consul in Washington State: My Aim Is for Bulgaria to Become Recognizable with Its Traditions, Language and Culture

Elka Rouskov, Honorary Consul of Bulgaria in Washington State since October 2022, said in an interview for BTA that one of her personal causes is to contribute to the popularization of Bulgarian culture, language, scientific achievements and art abroad.

She moved to the United States of America in 1993, after her son was born a year earlier in Sofia. By then, her husband had already been accepted into the Computer Science programme at Colorado State University. Not long after, both started working at Microsoft.

"In 2011, in Seattle, Washington, I participated in the founding of the Bulgarian Cultural and Heritage Centre and, together with a team of Bulgarian volunteers, we began to develop various programmes to popularize and preserve Bulgarian folklore and dance traditions. We were joined by Americans, captivated by the magic of our folklore. The programmes are still functioning, we managed to survive even during the global COVID-19 pandemic," Rouskov said.

One of the centre's programmes is called  Medena Pitka [Honey Bread] and is oriented towards children and adolescents. The women's choir Bulgarian Voices in Seattle, directed by Michael Lawson and the Seattle Reads programme, led by Daniela Nyberg, are two more of the centre's initiatives.

Rouskov said she is working with the Consulate on several projects of importance to West Coast communities. One of them is the installation of a monument to the Bulgarian alphabet in Los Angeles, created by artist Broni Likomanov, a Bulgarian and long-term US resident. He works for companies like Disney, as well as has solo art exhibitions.