The Ambassador of the European Union to the Republic of Moldova Jānis Mažeiks sang in Romanian a rock song based on Grigore Vieru’s verses on the occasion of the Romanian Language Day. The members of the Angry Band joined in the initiative and accompanied the diplomat, IPN reports.
The original song was composed in the 1980s by the Latvian band Līvi that used the Latvian translation of Grigore Vieru’s poem “In Your Language”. Ambassador Jānis Mažeiks adapted it by using the original poem based on the same tune as the song is extremely popular in his country of origin and is considered one of the symbols of the national renaissance in Latvia. Līvi and Călin Vieru, who holds copyright over the melody and the verses, supported the diplomat’s initiative to render homage to the Romanian language.
The song “Dzimtā Valoda”, which translates as “In Your Language”, was launched in 1986 and the same year won the top prize of the contest “Mikrofons”. In 2018, it was voted by the Latvians as the second most important national song of the last 100 years.
EU Ambassador Jānis Mažeiks said that the song “Dzimtā Valoda” was a point of reference and cohesion for the Latvians. “In 1986, there were many limitations imposed by the Soviet occupation, including on the mother tongue in Latvia, as on the Romanian language in the Republic of Moldova. Therefore, the possibility of singing about the language was a method of speaking about the big problems faced by the people then,” stated the diplomat.
The Romanian Language Day is celebrated in Moldova as a national holiday on August 31. In 2023, it has been 34 years since the Romanian language was declared the official language.
