From Bozko's skinny, tall, long-nosed creatures to Mary Ann Loo's dream tree with penguins, the Sofia Graffiti Tour spotlights Sofia's street art and graffiti scene.

The organization was founded in 2016 by Tsvetan and his two other colleagues after a discussion with a woman who went to Bogota, Colombia.

After the discussion, he decided to pursue his interest in graffiti as an artist and carried it to another level by preparing the tours.

They not only offer free walks but also organize workshops, help artists find empty canvases, and invite foreign artists to the Sofia scene.

"Since I was coming from the scene, it was easier for me to go out there and find out about the motivation behind the graffiti and invite artists."

According to him, finding out the stories, watching graffiti/street art being done, or organizing workshops was much easier than the paperwork.

"When we started, we had to pass an exam on Bulgarian history and geography to get our guide certificate. The exam was challenging, but we are proud to have our documents."

However, even though they got their certificate, the real challenge was still there.

"When we first started, our two other friends who were already making free walks helped us with a how-to guide. Nowadays, in our workshops, we teach them about graffiti and street art, and they teach us something new. "

The sun occasionally shows itself and shines on the statue of Sofia. First, today's tour guide, Toto, arrives at the statue. He looks around at the people trying to run away from the rain while taking out his cardboard that says Graffiti Tour Sofia. Soon, a few people start to walk toward him.

People come from Germany, France, Turkey, and Azerbaijan. Before anything, Toto starts his conversation by mentioning how hard the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic was.

"Normally, we had many Germans participating, but with the travel restrictions, the number decreased."

Similarly, Tsvetan also mentioned previously that during the COVID-19 pandemic, just like other businesses, they had to find a way to adapt. During the restrictions, they decided to do the tours online and donated their earnings to fight against COVID-19.

After a short conversation and waiting for the people who might be late, Toto takes us from the statue of Sofia to the first stop, the Chupa Chups parking lot, which is only 2 minutes away from the Serdika metro station.

"You know, when you are thinking about the graffiti, you imagine it would be on the outskirts, but here, it is right at the center of Sofia."

The sound of the car horns, tramway, and occasional plane engines accompany his words.

As we walk to the parking lot, all sorts of colors start to catch our eyes. They bring the old walls back to life from bright yellow to dark purple. These beautiful pieces are not only made for the eye but also the soul. Each of them has a story to tell, even though it is temporary.

"Most of the time, people, even locals, do not realize these artworks until someone points them out. That is why the Sofia Graffiti tour helps both the artists and the society."

A quick note, I lived in Sofia for four months in 2018. I passed in front of this building numerous times. I did notice the advertisement, but I would never imagine that it was something more than an advertisement.

"This Chupa Chups painting was one of the first foreign advertisements in Sofia, but its importance goes beyond that. It also sparked the street art scene for Sofia."

After the Chupa Chups paved the way for the others, there have been many new graffiti and street art emerging from social problems to marking territory to simply bringing some color to the grey walls left from the communist times. The early 2000s were especially active in terms of giving political messages.

"Once we ask the artists about the meaning behind their work, they often say that they do not know at the moment, which shows that sometimes the artist does not know the strict definition of what they want to do before they meet the canvas. Instead, it emerges in the process."

The artist makes many changes throughout the process, as Toto mentions. The subject of graffiti or street art is mainly shaped by real life, which does not only mean it criticizes some issue but also means it might represent a part of an artist's day or interest.

Our tour continues circling the city center; soon, we get into a street where there is an old form of graffiti called graffito and a modern one facing each other. Toto calls us to form a group right in the middle of them.

After a brief explanation of what graffito is and what is important to Sofia, Toto continues to talk about the modern piece. However, he decides to talk about the difference between street art and graffiti before that.

Even though both art forms follow similar interests, street art is recognized as legal due to its long creation process, whereas graffiti is usually known for bad connotations; therefore, it is illegal. That is one of the reasons why spray cans and markers are widely used in graffiti, while street art can be made of anything.

"In one year, the birds will fully disappear, but it is a good example of what happens to street art and graffiti. It is relevant to the day's topic, but no one thinks someone will admire their art after 200 years, you know?"

"Some people are pleased with the results, and some are not, but it is normal," said Tsvetan in our Zoom call while talking about the community's response to their work.

"Some funny things happen, you know? When we were doing our festival, there was this angry lady who came and complained about the noise because we had the speakers. Later, when we had another festival, she recognized us and came to see the result. She enjoyed it."

While funny stories like that exist, Toto shared a story about one of the street art pieces at the center, made by Bozko, that sparked arguments between the street art scene and the church.

"The piece was not ordered by the church, but some people were not happy with how S.T George was portrayed. It was not how the church would portray it, but personally, I believe an artist has the freedom to interpret."

On the other side, sometimes interesting exchanges happen between the artists and the Police.

One of their artists was painting a gun with a rose coming out from the barrel. It was for a project called `Spread Love Not Hate.` While working on the piece, a police car stopped beside him and asked for permission. However, they repeatedly said that something illegal must be going on. Finally, after checking his documents, one of the officers said, " Oh! Is that for Guns N' Roses?" and the artist said, "Yes! You can enjoy it afterward." They let him simply because they thought it was about the music group.