Talented young Slovak's dress design captures the attention of Vogue
A selection of short feel-good stories from Slovakia.
Every week The Slovak Spectator brings you a selection of three short stories from across Slovakia from which pessimism and negativity are absent.
17-year-old Slovak's work featured on Vogue website
The dress designed by Viktória Valihora (Source: Reprophotography Vogue.com)Even though she is just 17 years old, she can boast several successes.
The work of Viktória Valihora, daughter of drummer and percussionist Martin Valihora and TV presenter Alexandra Orviská, recently appeared on the website of the prestigious lifestyle magazine Vogue.
Her dress, which was painted by hand and took six days to finish, captured the attention of a Vogue reporter. He published the picture in his report from the Youth America Grand Prix, the Diva.sk website reported.
“And then after days of not sleeping and painting, a miracle like this happens,” Valihora wrote on Instagram. “The universe knows how to keep me working, working, working.”
Valihora, who was born in the US and thus has American citizenship, studies at the prestigious LaGuardia High School of Music & Performing Arts in New York City. She already sells T-shirts with her own designs.
A Catholic priest from India? Yes, in a small village in southern Slovakia
The spiritual needs of a parish in southern Slovakia are being ministered to by a priest from an unusual location, at least by Slovak standards.
Martin Madassery was born into a Christian family in India. He came to Slovakia 15 years ago as a missionary, and studied theology here. He learned the language, and for the past two years has led the parish in the village of Zbrojníky, Nitra Region.
The believers admire his kindness, enthusiasm and humour. Still, they were surprised when they first met him.
“Everyone is curious and wants to know why I am here, what I am like, where I came from,” Madassery said, as quoted by the TVnoviny.sk website. “But when I learned to speak Slovak well, they didn’t have any problem accepting me.”
After arriving in Slovakia, he admitted he was surprised the most by snow, cars stuck in snow drifts, and the fact there were very few people everywhere. Among the things that Madassery misses are homemade Indian food and the big groups of people who used to visit his church back in India.
As there are just a few believers who regularly attend his church, his biggest priority is to attract more young people, TVnoviny.sk reported.
The singing fountain is back
The iconic Singing Fountain in Košice, which is the oldest musical fountain in Slovakia, was put into operation in late April, after extensive reconstruction.
“The reconstruction took place at the eleventh hour,” said Košice Mayor Jaroslav Polaček, as quoted by the TASR newswire. “Without it, the fountain would no longer function this year and would not be able to delight its visitors. It is the most modern fountain in Europe and the only one with artificial intelligence.”
It now has 260 LED lights. There are 43 pumps and 750 nozzles of various diameters in total, with the central one spraying water to a height of 24 metres. It also includes rotating pirouettes.
The reconstruction included also the replacement of cabling, which now totals 16 kilometres in length. The sound system and musical selection were also renewed.
The renovated fountain now has several new smart technologies, which will enable the transmission of performances at the National Theatre Košice and other cultural events directly to the fountain’s water mist in visual and audio form. The new software also enables basic control and remote supervision, TASR reported.
Five feel-good stories published by The Slovak Spectator for you to read:
- Noema Gajdoš Kmecová is a cat-behaviour researcher from the University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Košice and author of Mačkast, the first Slovak podcast about cats. In an interview, she talks about the many things we still don’t know about cats, and about the nature of cat research.
- 25 years after our reviewer Mark Taylor first ate there, Restaurant Shanghai is still in the same location, and is still doing good business. Mark decided to revisit the restaurant on a recent trip to Bratislava, to see how its food compares with so many newer venues around the country.
- Among the men who raised the US flag on Iwo Jima, as captured in the iconic battle photograph from World War II, was Sergeant Michael Strank, a native of northeastern Slovakia. The Slovak background of one of the men in the scene was not recognised until 2008.
- Bratislava has always been a multicultural city. Representatives of every nation have left permanent traces on the Slovak capital, and it is possible to trace these various eras at numerous sites in the city.
- The Financial Times has listed Slovakia’s largest power producer, Slovenské Elektrárne (SE), as Europe’s Climate Leader 2024, alongside top companies from all over Europe that protect the climate and reduce carbon emissions.
Political meme of the week
(Source: SME/Rosie Naive Art)Caption: That’s really something!
In this meme, artist Rosie Babicová, whose works can be found on the internet and social networks under the name Rosie Naive Art, reacts to recent comments by Lukáš Machala, a government official whose name has been mentioned among possible candidates to lead the planned new government-controlled state broadcaster, Slovak Television and Radio (STVR). Answering a question about whether people who believe that the Earth is flat should be given a platform on the current public broadcaster, RTVS, Machala, who has himself spread several conspiracy theories, said they should – and went on to ponder whether it has really been proved that the Earth is round.
You can send me your tips on good news stories about Slovakia or funny memes at: radka.minarechova@spectator.sk. Thank you!
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