Colombian Alexander Acosta Osorio on the art of being an expat in Bulgaria

published on 3/4/25 12:35 PM

Photo: личен архив

At first, when he first arrived in Bulgaria, Alexander Acosta Osorio felt isolated and a little confused because of the language barrier and the cultural clash. "At that time, there wasn't such a large foreign community here, and I was probably the only Colombian in the city," Alexander recalls. His fate resembles that of tens of thousands of foreigners who have chosen Bulgaria as their home and call themselves expats.

Alxander Acosta Osorio talks to Radio Bulgaria's Veneta Nikolova

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He chose Bulgaria, driven by love and the opportunity for a good education. It all started with a fateful meeting that would change his life forever. While studying fine arts at LaGuardia Community College in New York, the Colombian student met his future wife, who is Bulgarian. But the two decided to live in Bulgaria and in 2009 settled in Blagoevgrad, where Alexander graduated with a degree in journalism and mass communication at the American University in the southwestern Bulgarian city. Meanwhile, their son Stefan was born, whom he affectionately calls "my little Bulgarian".

"Bulgaria has changed a lot in these 15 years," says Alexander, adding:

"Now there are more foreigners. When I arrived here in 2009, there were about 11 thousand. Now there are more - 90, almost 100 thousand. I think in terms of work, there are more opportunities. Bulgaria was, and still is, a great place for outsourcing operations in Europe. And also for start-ups, which have been growing over the years. Many of my classmates started companies in the start-up sector. So it's easy to see through their eyes how many opportunities there are here. And that's one of the great things here. It feels like a place of opportunity here although people don't always see it."

Like other expats, Alexander faces a serious obstacle - the Bulgarian language, which turns out to be quite difficult, and for some even impossible. But the fact that more and more foreigners are mastering the language makes our rich culture more accessible to the world, Alexander believes. In addition, the language barrier does not prevent him from getting to know and falling in love with Bulgaria, to which he has dedicated his creative projects.

"As a photographer, I focus on Bulgarian traditions, so I capture not only daily life, but also traditions. My favorite is the Surva mummers festival. I love to capture the different costumes, the different traditions of the kukeri (mummers) but I also love to capture the life in Bulgaria. So for the past 15 years, in my photography I have been trying to capture the essence of the place, the essence of Bulgaria, in order to show it to the world."

Alexander Acosta Osorio's works have participated in a number of exhibitions in Bulgaria and abroad. In Bulgaria, they were presented at the American University, as well as at the Arsenal Museum of Contemporary Art in Sofia, as part of the European Month of Photography in 2011. Now Alexander is working on a black and white series of photographs of mummers.

Cinema is his other passion and in 2017 he even starred in the film "To Love Pablo" filmed in New Boyana Film Studio with Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz. He admits that it was an unforgettable experience. "Who would have guessed that Sofia and Bulgaria are the location of major Hollywood productions! There is a huge film industry here" - Alexander does not hide his admiration. And he adds:

"Bulgaria has given me everything! It is a very generous country. I know that sometimes there is this impression that things are hard here, and they can be. But I have never met such a generous country and people before. I received my education here, my job is here, my son is here, where I have lived my life for the last 15 years. Now, I even receive unemployment benefits because I have invested in the system, I have contributed to the economy. We should value and believe in Bulgaria more," concludes Alexander Acosta Osorio, adding that he is considering the possibility of accepting Bulgarian citizenship.