After winning a prize in a U.S. songwriting competition in January, the Bulgarian singer Diana Dafova has won again - this time it was a Mongolian award on August 3.

The Blue Sky of Mongolia Competition gathered participants from the U.S., Vietnam, Russia, Cuba, China and Canada. The Golden Statue was awarded to Dafova for her performance of a popular traditional Mongolian song. She sang about a Mongolian girl who is deeply in love and can see her beloved wherever she goes. "It was a great challenge for me to present this famous song to a critical audience in their own language without much preparation," said Dafova. The jury, who chose the winner out of 16 participants, consisted of two famous Mongolian singers, the director of the Mongolian Opera House and the dean of the Ulan Bator Music Academy.

"What I compose is based on my roots - Bulgarian folklore intonations and orthodox music, but interpreted in a contemporary manner and mixed with elements from many other cultures. I found it extremely refreshing to perform music for such friendly and cultural people," she added.

Dafova's husband and manager commented that, by combining lyrics from ancient languages such as Sanskrit, Aramaic, Hebrew, Arabic, Celtic, as well as English and Bulgarian in her latest album, Charisma, she tried to create a spiritual message for humanity drawn from both life and philosophy. According to Dafova, music is the bridge for different nationalities to understand each other better. The best prize of the Mongolian festival was the moral one with its cultural exchange value, said Dafova. The Bulgarian singer was surprised by the vitality and respect for others among the local population as well as their respect for folklore and traditions.