The wedding of Sarah and Buko Pizanti

This photo was taken on 8th August 1920, when my parents got married, a month after their engagement. This is the wedding photo I cherish a lot. My father and my mother are in the center. On the left side standing is my mother's brother and below him is his wife, also on the left side of my mother. Above her, standing, second from left to right is the daughter of my mother's brother, next to her is her husband. Next to him is my mother's brother and his wife, next to them is my father's brother with his wife. The woman sitting first on the right below is the unmarried sister of my father - Sarah. On her left side is the daughter of my mother's nephew, Rebecca. My father's name was Buko, but he preferred to be called Saltiel. He was born in Vidin on 20th December 1897. After I got married and moved to Sofia, he came to live with us. He was a very strict, but fair man. He never broke his word. He was not a complete atheist, because he kept my grandfather's tallit as a relic, as well as his kippah. When he went to the synagogue, he would put on his tallit and kippah at home. He seldom went to the synagogue though. My mother's name was Sarah, but everyone called her Freda. She was born on 8th August 1895 in Vidin. My mother was a diabetic. She was almost illiterate. During the Law for the Protection of the Nation, she worked as a housemaid for the rich Jews. I, as the youngest child, went with her, peeling onions, potatoes etc. My parents knew each other from early on, because they were neighbors. They dressed like the others. My mother told me that her brother bought her cheap high-heeled shoes. The other sisters wore slippers with heels. My mother was raised by her brother, who also raised his other brothers and sisters. The shoes she was talking about were a bit above the ankle, with laces. Once she cut them from top to the bottom with a knife and he made her sew them together again. Then she continued to wear them for quite some time. Uncle Yako, her brother, bought my mother her first nice pair of shoes when she got engaged. That made her very happy.

Photos from this interviewee