By Wendella Davidson

OUTGOING Head of the Delegation of the European Union (EU) in Guyana, Ambassador Jernej Videtic, has said that he knew of Guyana even before being posted here.

Speaking at a recent event at the Pegasus Hotel to observe Europe Day on May 9, the EU envoy disclosed that he became aware of Guyana through a Slovenian-British composer Dusan Velkaverh. Velkaverh was born in Georgetown on September 12, 1943 to a Slovenian sailor and a British nurse, and died on February 1, 2016 in Ljubljana, capital of Slovenia, at the age of 72.

He is a legend of the Slovenian song festival history and is credited with being responsible for the lyrics of some of the most memorable songs in the history of Slovenian music. About 30 of his 600 songs became major hits in Slovenia, the evergreens. One song was also entered at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1975, with the title “Dan ljubezni” (The Day of Love).
Velkaverh, who was active above all in the music publishing business and was not a professional author, wrote the lyrics of around 600 songs, mostly for Slovenian composers, but also for ensembles.
His name is tied closely to the blossoming of the Slovenska popevka festival of chanson and pop songs, which had its heyday in the 60s and 70s with contributions from professionally trained singers, composers and poets.
Velkaverh wrote the lyrics for one of the most popular Slovenian holiday songs, Silvestrski poljub (New Year’s Eve Kiss), while the list of his biggest hits also includes Pridi, dala ti bom cvet (Come to me, I’ll give you a flower), Zelene livade s teboj (The Green Meadows and You), Ljubi, ljubi, ljubi (Dearest, Dearest, Dearest) etc
He also spent his childhood in New York, London and Belgrade, before his family moved to Slovenia in 1956.

The audience at the function was afforded the opportunity to listen and view a short video of a concert held in honour of the acclaimed composer,at which he also performed.
Said Ambassador Videtic, “As you can see, a Guyanese-Slovenian has touched the hearts of generations of Slovenians, and I asked myself, was there any reverse influence from Slovenians to the Guyanese people? I could think of the Non-Aligned Movement. The ideology behind the movement was mainly conceptualised by Slovenian political figures and diplomats. A well maintained and groomed park in Georgetown (known as the Cenotaph), that has the busts of the main leaders of the movement is an evidence of this political influence,” he added.

The ambassador said, too, that resulting from his posting here in Guyana, he has come to know more in depth, the Caribbean Region’s history and aspirations.