Nase Novine, November 01, 1978

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By: Susan Grdeni6
ЈШашшатажктгошаатшктшшттшашшашапшшттетвшвтттттпшшшштттшшшшттжвштштттттшаашт Р" г чда Шш& ' 'I
(CFU Lodge 617, Wellahd, Ont.)
Recently, (July 22 to August 4), the
Hamilton-Toront- o region Junior Tambu-ritzan- s
along with a group of parents and
friends visited and toured the republics of
Croatia and Slovenia oh a two-wee- k period.
This group was led by Brother Walter
Vucetich of Hamilton, Ontario, in response
to the invitation from Matica Iseljenika
Hrvatske. We are grateful to Brother Vuce-tich
for taking the initiative and making
this beautiful tour possible for us all. Also,
a great thanks should be extended to
Matica Iseljenika Hrvatske, and to all those
people who took care of us in such a way
which will never be forgotten.
Upon arrival at the Zagreb airport
PLESO, we were met by Ms. Sylvia Letlca,
who was to be our guide for the next two
weeks. We were then transferred to the
very beautiful Hotel "Intercontinental", in
Zagreb, where we spent four nights. Our
stay 111 this hotel was a very pleasant one.
We had all the best accommodations, all
the great delicacies, and a very friendly
personal. The next day, which was the 24th
of July, began with a visit to Matica iselje-nika
Hrvatske Office, where a reception
was held for us. We were met and warmly
received by the staff. Each of the children
in the group received a music book consis-ting
of Yugoslav songs and dances. We
were ail treated to refreshments, and It was
more or less a very open and free social
gathering. Mr. Phillipe LeBlanc, Minister
of Multiculture in Ontario, along with a
few others were interviewed by reporters
from the magazine, "Slrena", as well as
"Matica". I found that these people were
so Impressed at the fact that we, children,
born In Canada, were carrying on the
culture of Yugoslavia... the songs, dances
and music. , Each ensemble, both the
Hamilton and Toronto, received a beautiful
narpdna noSnJa, along with a book on
Zagreb going to the Hamilton Multicultural
Centre..
Being the last week in July as It was, we
were fortunate enough to see some of the
famous 'Smotra', which is the most spec-tacular
festival of genuine folklore of the
world. This festival takes place every year
from July 23-3- 0, and for the entire week,
Zagreb's squares and streets serve as
stages for performances of folklore groups
from all over the world. We attended one
concert at the "Vatroslav Llslnski" Con-cert
Hall. Just to give a brief background of
this beautiful hall... it was officially
opened on the 29th of December, 1973,
and was named after the great Croatian
musician, Vatroslav Llslnski, the compo-ser
of the first Croatian Opera, "Love and
Malice". The concert we attended was
something I will never forget. As we were
entering the hall, we stumbled across a
group of musicians, called the Bunjevcl
from Subotlca. When asked to play for us,
without a moment of hesitation, their
tamburltzas were sweetly sounding the
ever-popul- ar, "Becarac". After this brief
performance outside the concert hall, we
went inside to see the actual concert.
The concert was a real treat for us „all.
There were several groups performing from
ail over Yugoslavia, singing, ancient folk
tunes and doing, their dances, which were
, full of life and symbolism. One thing
which I must comment on is the fact that
the performers were all older people, it was
so beautiful to see. In Canada, and the
U.S.A., we are used :to seeing mostly all
junior tamburitza ensembles, with just a
few exceptions. The concert made for a
very enjoyable evening..
The following1 day, We made a trip to
Karlovac, which is not far from Zagreb. We
were warmlygreeted by the mayor of Kar-lovac,
and, were taken to the town muse-u- m.
In the evening, bur ensemble gave Its
first concert. The audience was very
receptive and was thrilled to see and hear
us Canadians singing, dancing; and
playing the tamburitza. After, our concert,
we were.takehto Hotel "Korana", where we
were treated -- to dinner and afterwards a
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dance, where everyone Joined In for some
vigourous kolo dancing.
We returned to Zagreb that evening, and
in the morning left for a whole day round
trip to Hrvatsko Zagorje, where we visited
the birthplace of Josip Broz Tito. The
house now contains the Memorial Mu-seum.
The rooms have been furnished in
exactly the same way they were during the
lifetime of the Broz family. The house
contains an exhibition illustrating Marshal
Tito's life and work. It is very, very inte-resting
to see.
Also visiting Kumrovec at the time, was
a group from Pittsburgh called the "Frank
Kalik Orchestra" and friends, whom we
met while in Kumrovec. Being a polka
band as they were, one of the musicians
took out the accord Ian and began tc play
some polka and waltz tunes. Several
people Joined in to dance, but one very
sweet, older lady from the town "stole the
show". She danced with several of the
people from Pittsburgh while the rest of
us gathered around and clapped our hands
and tapped pur toes. From here, we went
on to Stubica where we saw the monument
to MatIJa Qubec. We returned to Zagreb
that day, and spent the night In the
CROATIAN NATIONAL THEATRE IN ZAGREB
"Intercontinental", where we found our
polka band friends from Pittsburgh were
also staying. The next day was a day to
spend however we pleased, whether it be
shopping or Individual sightseeing, etc. I,
personally, along with my family, spent
the day sightseeing Zagreb. We visited the
Ethnographic Museum, which contains
collections of costumes, village architec-ture,
characteristics of folk customs,
jewellery, furniture, Implements, etc..
from all over Yugoslavia. It, was most inte-resting
and very educational. We also
visited the beautiful, KazallSte, Opera
House, and a' few other buildings and
museums of importance in that part of
town. Then, we went ,on,to see the famous
Svetl Marko church, which was built In the
13th century, but which has been repea-tedly
reconstruced. the church Is deco-rated
with sculptures by the famous Ivan
MeStrovld. The church is located In the
upper .town of Zagreb. Zagreb, composed
of three towns, the Upper Town, the Lower
Town and the New Zagreb, is so very rich
in cultural history with its numerous
monuments, and rich treasures kept In the
numerous, museums ancfgalleries.
After a whole day of walking through
Zagreb, wo returned to the "Intercontinen-tal"
wHere we dined, and then afterwards
made a trip to Samobor, where We saw the
always-gre- at Duquesrie University Tambu-rltzan- s
from Pittsburgh, Pa. It was, a fine
performance as usual. As I looked around
me In the audience, I saw many tears. The
tammies were applauded and shouted at
with words such as, "Bravo'- -, and "JoS,
Jo£". the next day, we went to a place called
MarkuSevac, where our group put on a
concert. Once again we were warmly rece-ived
and applauded. We were even invited
to come back In the future to perform for
them again. Early the next morning, we set
out for a long, but very scenic drive to
Plltvlce Lakes National Park. It is Europe's
most beautiful national park, containing
sixteen pearl-lik- e lakes interlinked by
waterfalls and cascades. The water is
crystal clear and of a blue-gree- n colour.
The complex of lakes is surrounded by a
thick forest, which is an unbelievably
beautiful sight. We spent three hours
walking through the park, but It would
actually take three days to see everything.
After our beautiful day of sight-seein- g,
we checked In at the hotel, dined and the
evening was ours to do whatever we
pleased. There were several places of
entertainment nearby. The next morning,
we proceeded on to Gospi6, where we
checked In at the Hotel "Lika". Here we
were greeted with a friendly welcome by
the representative of Matica iseljenika of
Lika. We lunched, and, one thing I must
mention... each table was treated to a flask
of good old SlJIvovica. Later on In the after-noon,
we visited Nikola Tesla's museum,
who, we all know, was a genius and the
very Important Inventor of electricity.
In the evening, our ensemble once again
performed at the hotel we were staying at,
and we all had the oppurtunlty of meeting
with Ms. Mllica Kacar, a popular singer,
performing in Gospid at the time.
The following morning, we travelled
towards the Island of Krk via Vratnik and
Senj. Upon arrival, we were transferred by
ferry boat to a place called Mallnska, a
beautiful and famous sea resort town.
Here we were accommodated at the hotel
"Trlglav". We had one day of leisure, just
to kind of get acquainted with the Island, It
was something so. beautiful, to see. We
spent hours swimming, sight-seein- g, sun-bathing,
etc.. whatever your heart .desired.
Later on, towards the evening, wevlslted
the Hotel "Palace" which was just that, a
Palace. There we had a lovely reception
and a welcome by the Mayor --of Krk. A
group of young students from. the Island
put on a" performance showing the native
folk' dances and songs. The music was
something very different from tamburitza
' music. The instrument on which they
played on was called the "sopile"-- . This
Instrument gave a sort of bag-pip- e sound.
After getting acquainted with the perfor
mers, as well as the officials, we all joined
In to dance to the music of the "sopile".
In the evening, back at the hotel
"Trlglav", we gave an informal performan-ce
on the terrace, and were treated by the
chef. I must mention that not only in
Mallnska, but throughout our entire tour of
Yugoslavia, the people were always friend-ly
and willing to assist In any way pos-sible.
The following morning, we set off by
boat to visit another Island on the island of
Krk, called KoSIJun. there we visited the
Monastery, and observed a large and old
cqlection of books and costumes. After-wards,
we were treated to wine and lunch
by the monks of this Monastery. In the
evening, we performed back at the beauti-ful
hotel "Palace".
The next day and a half was left for
swimming, sunbathing and just enjoying
the pleasant atmosphere of the island. On
our last day on the island, we visited a
place called BaSka, where we gave our
final concert, and It was. a huge success.
The audience would not let us go. There
were cries of "joS, JoS", "bravo"... We then
were treated to dinner arid then entertained
by 3 gypsies. They said that they were so
pleased to see us performing our Croatian
songs and dances for them, that they in
return, woufd like to play something for
us. They began playing a medley of well-kno- wn
American tunes. For Instance, "Oh,
When the Saints". It was something so
special, I don't think any of us vill ever
forget.
Early, the next morning, we were on our
way to the republic of Slovenija. We stop-ped
at Postojna Cave. It is one of the most
magnificent caves In the world. It is unique
In beauty. People from all over the world
come to visit this cave. After dining at the
exclusive Gulf Hotel, we proceeded on to
the city of Ljubljana, where we checked in
at the hotel "Lev". The following day, we
visited lake Bled. In actuallity, it is a beau-tiful
medieval Castle on the island In the
lake of Bled. It is one of the numerous
historical and cultural land-mar- ks that
were preserved In present-da- y Yugoslavia.
It was time to start heading back to Zag-reb,
so, early the next morning we set out.
This was our final day, and It was spent
visiting relatives, shopping, and doing
some last-minu- te sight-seein- g,' etc. We
left for airport "Pleso" the following mor-ning,
for our return.back to Canada.
How does one conclude or summarize
twoweeks of seeing nothing but beauty...
natural beauty, as well as charm to be
found in the country's urban features, in
the beauty of the buildings, surrounded by
parks and gardens, to the gem-lik- e lakes,
to the freshness of the mountains, and I
can go on and on.... I feel, as well as I am
certain all of the other people travelling
with us do, that this trip was an experience
of a lifetime. It was something none of us
will ever forget.,
I would like to once again thank Matica
Iseljenika Hrvatske for inviting us to spend
two weeks in our beautiful old country.
I would also like to thank Ms. Sylvia
Letlca for being so patient, helpful in every
way, and a friend to each and every one of
us. Also, we were very fortunate to have
one of the best "bus drivers In all of Yugo-slavia,
gospodln DuSan Aleksifi, whom we
shall never forget. He, too, became a dear
friend to each of us.
Above all, I think that we should all be
grateful to Brother Tony Zlatar for his unli-mited
hours and efforts In teaching us all
to play the beautiful tamburitza music we
know.
And, last but not least, I would like to
thank my family for their support and
trouble In taking me to Hamilton to teach
the dancing and for practices, as well as
the many other ways in which they assis-ted.
I personally would like to extend my
appreciation to Brother Walter Vucetich,
for inviting my brother Frank and myself,
to be members of the group, and to help
out in any way we could.
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