‘Let’s build bridges’: Wales-loving Hungarians send heartfelt trilingual video message

Hungarians have come together to send a ‘love letter’ to Wales, in a trilingual video produced by Welsh-Hungarian cultural initiative Magyar Cymru.

The video features residents from Hungary’s ‘Welshest village’ Kunágota, opera and folk singers, educators, as well as Hungarians from Cardiff to Caernarfon who have embraced the Welsh language and culture.

The message kicks off Magyar Cymru’s ‘Let’s build bridges’ campaign, which also invites Welsh and Hungarian people to pen their own messages to the other nation via its website and social media.

Balint Brunner, Founder and Editor of Magyar Cymru, said: “We wanted to kick off the campaign with something truly special. The aim was to bring together the voices of Hungarians from across Wales, Hungary and beyond who feel a strong sense of attachment to Wales and its people.

“From music, through football to literature, there are many things that unite our two nations. We wanted to invite Wales to help ‘build bridges’ between our cultures – through the words of the Hungarians living among them, and those wishing their best from afar.”

The Hungarians featured in the video include singer Andrea Gerák who entertained Budapest tourists with her rendition of ‘Calon Lân’ in both Hungarian and Welsh earlier this year.

It also includes Welshophile music collector László Záhonyi has been hosting Welsh Language Music Day events in Budapest for several years.

Residents from the remote village of Kunágota, branded Hungary’s ‘Welshest village’ due to their tradition of hosting Welsh-Hungarian concerts, also thanked their Welsh friends across the continent for the opportunity to get to know them.

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Other notable appearances included Budapest’s Három Holló café (which had a full Welsh-language makeover in February in honour of Dydd Miwsig Cymru), Balint Brunner from Magyar Cymru, and the owners of Aberystwyth’s newly opened Hungarian gourmet restaurant, Paprika.

Classical singer Elizabeth Sillo, the organiser of Cardiff’s annual Welsh-Hungarian concerts, was joined by acclaimed Hungarian pianist Katalin Zsubrits and musician colleagues from all parts of Hungary who enjoy the work of Sir Karl Jenkins and other Welsh composers.

Welsh viewers can spot many familiar sights in the video, as local Hungarians have checked in from places including Aberystwyth Castle, Snowdonia and the Flintshire Bridge in Deeside.

The video shows off some of Hungary’s attractions too, including Budapest’s Liberty Bridge, Lake Balaton, the Reformed Great Church of Debrecen, and even the grand interior of Bréda Castle near Kunágota.

Magyar Cymru is now inviting people from both cultures to write and send their own best wishes to the other nation. Welsh people, from anywhere in the world, can submit their messages to their Hungarian friends through the website, or share them on social media using the hashtags #LetsBuildBridges, #AdeiladuPontydd or #ÉpítsünkHidakat, they said.