January 15 (Lyubomir Gigov of BTA) - Exactly thirty years ago, on January 15, 1992, Bulgaria became the first country in the world to recognize the independence that Macedonia, until then part of Yugoslavia, had declared on September 25, 1991. This act was all the more important, considering that the new state was recognized under its constitutional name, Republic of Macedonia, despite objections from neighbouring Greece.

Since then, the relationship between Sofia and Skopje has gone through more downs than ups until hitting freezing point in November 2020, when Bulgaria blocked the start of North Macedonia's EU accession talks, arguing that its southwestern neighbour did not meet the eligibility criteria.

While politicians seem stuck in a tangle of apparently intransigent disputes over history, language, hate speech and you name it, music - that universal medium that knows no boundaries, offers a ray of hope.

Bulgaria's Destiny Quartet - the first crossover band that has logged over 1 million views on YouTube, boasts a reinforcement from, yes, North Macedonia. Since late 2019 cellist Maja Mihajlovska has been performing together with violinists Gergana Aleksieva and Zvezdelina Haltakova, violist Ivelina Tudjarova and cellist Laura Tabakova. Destiny spotted Maja's talent in the Macedonian Philharmonic Orchestra, and Gergana personally went to Skopje to invite her to join the group.

The cross-border collaboration did not end there: in March 2021, Destiny's strings and the voices of North Macedonia's most popular duo, Dac & Aleksandar ("Korona Ciao"), came together to produce a magical rendition of "Jovano, Jovanke". The popular folk song was expressly arranged for the two groups by Italian composer Maurizio Abeni and sound engineer Marco Streccioni. The "Jovano, Jovanke - Love without Frontiers" video was shot at the Earth and Man National Museum in central Sofia under the direction of Toshko Chapkanov.

Not accidentally, the project was named "Love Passport". The girls regard "Jovano, Jovanke" as their signature tune that enables them to travel freely along the route from Macedonia to Bulgaria and back, as many times as they want, with a broad smile on their face. "A labour of love is doomed to succeed, and when you hold a 'love passport', then this is love without frontiers," the performers explain.

On Facebook, Destiny approached North Macedonia's Prime Minister Zoran Zaev about their joint project. They recalled a letter from Dac & Aleksandar to then Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov in which the performers wrote: "Your neighbour is the one that is nextdoor to you, not upstairs or downstairs." "We hope that more people will understand and feel our message with their hearts. There are no frontiers for love, we are good neighbours! Mr Zaev, we have taken the first steps and together have said 'yes' to love! It is for you, politicians, to take the next steps," the quartet appealed.