Photo of mummers from Bulgaria’s Razlog will appear on National Geographic cover page

The mummers from Razlog called “Chaushi” will appear on the “National Geographic” cover page. The photo was taken at 2810m above sea level on the edge of the rock in the area "Koncheto" by photographer Ivo Danchev.

The photo, which will appear on the cover of the magazine in January, was taken a month ago, as a challenge was the high altitude at which the photo shoot took place.

We had to act very quickly before the first snow in the mountains, the Chaushi themselves could not climb up, although they had a great desire. So I mobilized friends who are mountain guides, mountain rescuers, many serious mountaineers who quickly organized and a group of 6 people climbed to “Koncheto” area, says photographer Ivo Danchev.

The photo with the mummers from the town of Razlog is part of the "Guardians" project of Ivo Danchev. He also plans to make a book of portraits of mummers and their varieties in Bulgaria.

"It is called the guardians, because the people who continue to keep this custom, for me are the guardians of this tradition on one hand, and on the other hand the symbolism of the mummers and the ritual is related to preserving the kindness, establishing prosperity and a good harvest," added Ivo Danchev.

The cover page with the mummers and the article to it are a reason for joy for everyone in Razlog and the Chaushi mummers themselves, who will not be able to hold their traditional festival "Starchevata" this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.