THE BEST TRIBUTE TO DIO YET?

Not that you care, but I have a friend named Ken Lee, and we often like to torture him with this video:

Unfortunately, that video is the only exposure I’ve ever knowingly had to Bulgarian culture. But I guess there are actually some pretty cool people there, too, ’cause the town of Kavarna is erecting (Huh-huh, he said “erecting”) a statue to Ronnie James Dio as part of their central park’s “Walk of Rock.” From Blabbermouth:

“According to Radio Bulgaria, the decision to erect the monument was taken by the municipal administration, with the most active proponents being Kavarna Mayor Tzonko Tzonev as well as leading journalists, musicians and singers.”

Holy crap. So this Mayor Tzonev just became pretty much the coolest mayor in the world, huh? Dio’s not even from Kavarna (obviously); he’s not even of Bulgarian descent, at least as far as I’m aware. The town just, like, wants to pay tribute to one of the greatest metal vocalists of all time. Awesome, right?

Here’s a pic of the mayor, one of the artist working on the statue, and the statue itself:

I just tried to book a flight to Bulgaria for the unveiling of this incredible monument, but I called a Bulgarian travel agent and learned the hard way that the phrase “tulibu dibu douchoo” doesn’t actually mean anything in Bulgarian, either.

-AR