by Simeon Gasparov 

"Aleko Konstantinov (or “The Lucky Man” as they used to call him) is one of the greatest and the most beloved Bulgarian 
writers. He was this type of writer who could make us not only laugh and cry simultaneously, but he would force us to think. 
To think about us and our imperfect human nature. To think also about the eternal moral values and our civic duties. 
Aleko Konstantinov is also one of the most relevant Bulgarian writers - satirists, especially for the times we live in 
today. Times of uncertainties, worries and fears. Times where unscrupulous businessmen are turning into politicians and 
politicians turning into businessmen. Times of struggles and harshness. 

But also times of great hopes, great ordeals, great expectations, and great achievements. Times that help us learn who
we are, and what kind of people we are. The works of Aleko Konstantinov and his legacy are exactly 
this mirror into which we see ourselves, with our failures, fears,sometimes corrupt souls, dishonesties, mistakes and 
disappointments. In his books, Aleko was not afraid to criticize us and to reveal to the world our wrongdoings. No matter if we were rich and 
powerful, or poor and naive. If we were wrong, if there was injustice done by us, he would be there to condemn us, to make fun of us, to tease us, to ridicule us, to mock us. But he was doing this, not because he was carrying some awfulness in his heart. No! No! It was because he loved us. 
Moreover, he loved us exactly the way we are and he was not ashamed to love us. Us - the same sinners, the same liars, the 
opportunists, the imperfect, flawed, corrupted, damaged human beings. 
Because, he believed in us. And through his writings he demanded us to change. To change, to be better human beings.

The life of Aleko Konstantinov was not an easy one. He was called the Lucky Man, but there was not so much luck around him.He was only 23 years old, when he was promoted to the 
position of prosecutor at the Sofia city Regional Court. At that time his private life turned tragic. For only five years, from 1885 to 1890, he lost all his closest 
family members – his parents died, and then his sisters, so he was all alone in this world. He sold a few family estates, but bestowed his house of birth in city of Svishtov, near Danube River to be used a school. 
To make things even worse for him, Aleko Konstantinov was dismissed from the Sofia Court on the grounds that he had refused to lodge a lawsuit against People’s Rights Newspaper which had condemned PM at the time Stefan Stambolov in an editorial. Aleko started a practice as a lawyer and focused on his writings. In 1890 he was appointed member of the Sofia Court of Appeal. After a new minister of justice took over, Konstantinov was out of a job again. As a lawyer however, he refused to defend anybody whom he did not believe was innocent. 
In 1893, when he was 30 years old with financial support from friends, Aleko Konstantinov left for the
world trade fair in Chicago. He went to see Niagara Falls, Washington DC, New York, 
Boston, and visited many museums, parks and libraries. 
Aleko Konstantinov was absolutely fascinated by the trip. Later in his writings he would say that the greatest thing that ever happened to him, was the trip to the United States. But the country he always wanted to live was Bulgaria! 
When he returned to Bulgaria, he wrote the travel notes “To Chicago and Back” released in a separate volume in 1894. 
In it he draws up a parallel, between life in the New World and in the Balkans. In 1895 the first edition of his masterpiece “Bai Ganyo or Uncle Ganyo”, a cycle of satirical short stories, came out. In the character of Bai-Uncle Ganyo Aleko Konstantinov satirizes the unscrupulousness, spiritual poverty and hypocrisy of an emerging new branch in Bulgarian society greedy for money and power. With dark humor, he told the story of how Bai-Uncle Ganyo organized elections, revealing the political habits and ways and the brutal political struggles of that time. 
Aleko Konstantinov was involved in political affairs. In 1894 parliamentary elections were held in Bulgaria. He ran for an ofice 
but failed to get elected. In 1896 the Democratic Party was founded and Aleko Konstantinov was among its members. However, with his merciless criticism of the government he got into immense troubles. Worried over his future, leading literary critic in Bulgaria Dr Krastyo Krastev decided to advance him with cash and send him to Italy together with poet Kiril Hristov. 
The idea was to encourage Aleko Konstantinov to write another collection of travel notes. Despite his passion for travel, 
the writer refused, because he was engaged in a lawsuit in the City of Plovdiv, Southern Bulgaria. All this happened in May 1897. Aleko met with his friend Mikhail Takev, also a member of the Democratic Party and a lawyer in Plovidv.
On his way back to the capital Sofia, Aleko Konstantinov was shot dead by mistake. At least this is the official version. It 
seems that the bullet was meant for his friend from the Democratic Party Mikhail Takev. Aleko Konstantinov was buried on the 14 May 1897 in Sofia.
He died at only 34 years old, but the legacy he left is 
monumental. Not by its volume, but by its depth and strength. 
Besides being a moral and social indicator of his time, Aleko was 
an explorer not only of our human souls, but also the beauty of our 
country Bulgaria. 
The stunning landscape of Bulgaria was working for his 
inspiration, the same way probably the sea was working for the 
ancient Greeks and their muses. In his works Aleko was trying also
to evaluate, examine and put side by side our country Bulgaria 
with the rest of the world. But not like a separate entity of this 
colorful world we live in, but as an integral, essential, vital part of 
it.
Today we get together for an historical moment. The corner 
in front of the First Bulgarian Center, between Irving Park Rd and 
North Hamlin Avenue will be named after Aleko Konstantinov. 
From now on, his spirit will be standing here, smiling at us and 
loving us. Regardless of our faults. And he will not stop making 
fun of us. Until we change. Because he believed in us. And loved 
us! 
Thank you Chicago for naming this place after Aleko 
Konstantinov! Thank you for being the home for so many 
immigrants like us! You are not only the city with the big 
shoulders, but also the city with the great heart!

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