Първото общобългарско състезание за майстори на естрадното изкуство и ролята му за дефинирането на популярната култура на социализма
The first all-bulgarian competition for masters of estrada art and its role in defining the popular culture of socialism

Summary/Abstract: The First All-Bulgarian Competition for Masters of Estrada Art in 1954 was an initiative of the Committee for science, art and culture, which has its кey role for defining and importing the Soviet concept of the estrada art in Bulgaria in terms of aesthetics, functions and organization. This concept would be reproduced in the following more than three decades and would set the frames of the state-supported official popular culture. Through quoting and analyzing the preserved archival documents related to the preparation and holding of the event, I offer my conclusions about the nature of this event and the art of estrada – a composite scenic art, combining spoken word, music, singing, dancing, acrobatics, circus acts – all together building up a unitary performance. The discussions within the jury in the course of the competition make clear the specifics of this art and its differences to the classical academic genres. After the competition, the estrada art became a centralized technology for covering remote audiences by a centrally approved cultural content between entertainment, satire and propaganda.

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