MAMAIA, I MISS THE FESTIVAL!
The month of August!
BBQs, holidays, fishing, too much rain, sunbathing in the garden, Pim’s, too hot, mosquitos, watermelons … all of these and more are part of our normal summer vocabulary.
But for me August is something else.
I know that I will sound a little bit old-fashioned but for me this time of the year was always linked with MAMAIA – the Romanian National Music Festival
You don’t have a clue what I’m talking about!
But let me tell you something: when I was a child, I was watching every year the live broadcastings of Romanian National Television from Mamaia – the pearl of Romanian Black Sea coast, dreaming that one day I will be in the audience, right there in Mamaia Summer Theatre.
When I started working in television, after 1991, my dream came true and I was privileged to be involved, couple of times, in the musical event of every Romanian summer.
In February 1963, during a meeting organized by the Communist State Committee for Culture and Art, it was decided to organize a contest and a music festival, aimed to promote Romanian music.
This is how the MAMAIA MUSIC FESTIVAL was born.
The first edition took place at the end of August 1963 in new Summer Theatre in Mamaia resort, inaugurated on the very first day of the festival with a capacity of 1100 seats.
What I found difficult when I’m talking with my non-Romanian friends about MAMAIA Festival is to explain the syntagma “muzica usoara romaneasca”.
The word by word English translation “easy music” / “light music” doesn’t do much good. It is easy to think of Eurovision or better the Italian Festival San Remo.
And because is summer, and because I’m home and because I’m swimming at the moment in a pool full of nostalgic memories I decided to create a virtual edition of the Romanian National Music Festival MAMAIA.
Wasn’t easy to find on-line recordings from all editions of Mamaia festival and I have to apologise for the technical quality of some of those videos.
Wasn’t easy to decide the best songs or the best voices without ending with a 24 hours long program.
I manage to choose my favourites moments of Mamaia’s stage and created 3 rounds of pre-selections, one final and of course an Awards Gala.
And if you are ready is time to start a virtual musical adventure and maybe your first Romanian music lesson, called “I miss Mamaia Festival!”
Ladies and gentlemen this is “MAMAIA – Mi-e dor de Festival!”
Round 1 – “Mamaia ’60s,’70 and ’80”
click here to watch “Mamaia ’60, ’70s and ’80″”
Round 2 – “Mamaia ’90s”
click here to watch “mamaia ’90s”
Round 3 – “Mamaia ’00”
click here to watch “Mamaia ’00s”
The Final – “Mamaia – Mi-e dor de Festival!”
click here to watch THE FINAL “MAMAIA – Mi-e dor de festival!”
AWARDS GALA – “Mamaia – Mi-e dor de Festival!”
click here to watch AWARDS GALA “Mamaia – Mi-e dor de Festival!”
The Romanian versions of the shows here:
Leonard Miron 
Good job, Leo! Bravissimo! Foarte bine,dle Miron!
Multumesc mult