Croatian music in the land of salsa

JENNIFER MOONEY PIEDRA

Associated Press
 

HIALEAH, Fla. - They sit in a half-circle, in the middle of a barren room, with music stands in front of them. When Charles Mrazovich gives the go-ahead - a faint "one, two, three" - their fingers begin plucking away on the strings of their instruments.

There's Mrazovich on the brac, an instrument used for the melody parts. And Curt Pollack on the prim, a small, mandolin-type instrument that makes a very high, fine sound.

The bugarija, an instrument similar to the guitar but with fewer strings, is played by Wally Hertsch. His backup is Lorenz Gludovatz, the band's newest member.

Mike Feduniak, sits off to the side, methodically plucking the strings of his berda, also known as the bass.

They call themselves "The Tamburitzans Trio," although there are five of them. And, they say, they're Miami-Dade County's only Croatian band.

"We use Croatian instruments, but that doesn't mean we only play Croatian music," Mrazovich said. "We can play just about anything from 'Silent Night' to 'Guantanamera.'"

And he has proof.

Mrazovich keeps notebooks full of sheet music in an old-fashioned luggage. The music is categorized by type, including Italian, Greek, Jewish, Irish, Lithuanian and Russian.

But their most requested songs are somewhat surprising: The Disney classic "It's a Small World" and the Tennessee anthem "Rocky Top" are among the crowd favorites, Mrazovich said.

"It's fun to play different kinds of music," added Pollack, "That way, things never get boring."

Pollack, a former music specialist for Hialeah, plays about 20 instruments, including violin, banjo and guitar.

But in 1996, he was approached by Mrazovich, a former Hialeah High teacher whom he remembered from his days at the school. Mrazovich needed a place for his band to rehearse - and Pollack had just the spot: the Victor Wilde Adult Center.

Then Mrazovich issued a new challenge to Pollack: Play the bass in the Croatian band. Because of his familiarity with string instruments, Pollack quickly took up the Croatian instrument, too.

"Each instrument is strung differently," Pollack explained, "but I had a feel for how to play them."

Learning a new instrument hasn't come as easily for Feduniak. It's not because he's not Croatian - Feduniak is actually Ukranian - but because of the instrument's bulky size and his lack of musical skill, he said.

Mrazovich recruited him after the band's regular bass player died. The two were longtime friends who taught together at Hialeah High in the 1960s and 1970s.

"We enjoy playing together," Feduniak said. "It keeps us busy."

Gludovatz, a native of Croatia, is also new to his instrument. Day by day, practice by practice, he gets a little better on the bugarija.

"I had always heard about these guys," said Gludovatz, a retired Florida Power & Light supervisor. "Now, I am one of them."

The band's legacy has lived on for more than four decades, though it has seen members come and go. The only two original members of the group: Mrazovich and Hertsch, a retired industrial fireman at Miami International Airport.

Hertsch emigrated from Croatia as a child and spent much of his life living in Canada, where he learned how to play the bugarija and the prim.

In the late 1950s, soon after moving to Florida, Hertsch and Mrazovich met and became fast friends.

They began making music together in the garage of Mrazovich's Hialeah home. Hertsch's wife, Nella, often joined them, playing the tambourine.

The five men get together for three hours every Tuesday, playing music, nibbling on doughnuts and reminiscing about their childhood, World War II experiences and the changing community around them.

Their wives sit nearby, tapping their feet to the beat of the music. During some songs, the women serve as a chorus, humming the lyrics.

With the exception of Pollack, 50, the rest of the men are retired octogenarians.

Besides their weekly jam sessions, the men perform at city events in Hialeah, holiday functions, retirement homes and birthday parties. The style of music they play depends on their audience - but Croatian instruments are always used.

Finding bandmates among South Florida's small Croatian community hasn't been easy. The Croatian Embassy in Washington, D.C. says there are about 2 million people of Croatian descent, from first to fourth generation, living in the United States. But no stats are kept on the numbers of Croatians living in Florida.

Still, each Christmas the band plays at the Ranch House, the Hialeah landmark eatery.

"The customers and employees love them. It's something everyone looks forward to," said cashier Ruth Finnell.

The band members are gearing up for their busy season: they expect to do about a dozen performances this fall and winter.

"This music has been a part of my life forever," said Mrazovich, the son of Croatian immigrants. "It reminds me of my childhood."

Growing up in Pittsburgh, which has a large Croatian community, Mrazovich recalls his mother enrolling him in orchestra at age 9.

"I was embarrassed to go out in our band uniforms because I looked like a sissy," he said, "but we knew how to play the music and people really liked it."

It wasn't until 1964 that his passion to playing was rekindled when he moved to Hialeah and visited a Croatian club in Hollywood. Mrazovich joined the man onstage and grabbed an instrument: "Once you learn, you never forget."


<http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/state/9826770.htm?1c>

Croatian speakers reach out to talk

Dear Help!: My wife was born in what is now Croatia and of course speaks the language. She would enjoy speaking with someone else who speaks the language.

L.G.,Cocoa Beach

Dear Help!: I was born in a village called Kozino near Zadar. I came to the U.S.A. in 1947, and my cousins in Croatia are surprised how well I speak the language after being gone so long.

They say I speak the old language, without the Serbo influence, which I'm told the country now is going back to.

I am interested in speaking with the person who requested information about making contact with Croatian speakers.

A.P.,Mims

Dear Help!: My husband and a number of his friends are Croatian. He speaks fluent English and can be reached via Internet.

R.G.,Cocoa BeachSmall world, isn't it?

The three people heard from above were replying to a recent column in which a Melbourne woman identified only as L.H.D. expressed interest in getting in touch with other Brevard Countians capable of conversing in Croatian.

Linguists say the language is among those less commonly taught around the world.

Because the woman whose letter ran Thursday requested that her name and address not be published, identity of the respondents has been reduced to initials, as well.

Turnabout's fair play, one might say.

In order to facilitate discussion among them, Help! provided the four parties concerned with each other's names and e-mail addresses.

Dear Help!: A while ago, you gave some contact information about Jim Beam bottles. Could you list those addresses for me again?

Susan Laibl,Melbourne

Membership in the International Association of Jim Beam Bottle and Specialty Clubs can be attained only through affiliation with a local club.

District Director Barba Peeling of Apopka said there are four such clubs in Florida. Their presidents' names and addresses follow:


Central Florida Beamers -- Jeanine Connelly, 1786 Meredith Ave., Deltona, FL 32738.

Deep South Jim Beam Club -- Clola Schoneweis, 2555 S.E. Seventh Place, Homestead, FL 33033.

South Florida Jim Beam Club -- Bob Kelly, 14302 S.W. 76 St., Miami, FL 33183.

Tampa Bay Jim Beam Club -- Bill Brewster, 128 Cactus Dr., Hudson, FL 34667.
To reach Lang, mail Help!, FLORIDA TODAY, 1 Gannett Plaza, Melbourne, FL 32940. Fax 255-9550. E-mail go2guy4help@cfl.rr.com. Include name, address, phone.


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http://www.floridatoday.com/!NEWSROOM/localstoryL1005LANG.htm

Successful Croatian Golf Outing

70 plus Croatian golfers and their friends enjoyed a perfect weather,

friendships and lots of laughs

Tomislav Nogalo - Winner of the Tournament, Mate Matura got a "big" award for 87

Back row: Mario Gecevic, Ivica Glavinic, Gerald Maric, Tomislav Nogalo, Vladimir Blaskovic - Val. Front row - Croatian friends exact names to be found.

Heritage Hills Country Club
1000 West Hill Drive, Somers NY 10589 Tel.914.276.3300

Located in the "horse country" area of Westchester, a warm
welcome awaits you and your guests. Enjoy cocktails and
hors d'oeuvres on the spacious outdoor terrace. Play a
round on the manicured golf course of Heritage Hills
Country Club surrounded by the lush rolling hilltops.
Followed with a dinner buffet prepared by an award-winning
chef. A fun-filled autumn afternoon in nature filled with
delicious food, friends and golf.

$150 per golfer
Checks payable to:The Pinnacle (restaurant at Heritage
Hills Country Club)

Prizes for: Closest to the Pin and Longest Drive

For more information please call:
Gerald Maric 917. 217. 6129
Tomo Nogalo 917. 572. 9310
Ivica Glavinic 718. 791. 0074

Directions to Heritage Hills:

FROM NEW YORK CITY: By Car-North on Henry Hudson Parkway to
Saw Mill River Parkway. Continue to I-684 Exit 7 (Somers,
Purdys). Turn left onto Rt. 116 West. Follow Rt. 202 West
through Somers to Heritage Hills development. Enter on
right and make 2nd left onto West Hill Drive follow to
top-club on left.

FROM LONG ISLAND: By Car-Throgs Neck Bridge to 1-95 (New
England Thruway). North to Cross Westchester Expressway
(1-287). West on 1-287 to 1-684 North to Exit 7. (See above
directions from Exit 7.)

FROM NEW JERSEY: By Car-Tappan Zee Bridge to Cross
Westchester Expressway East (1-287). North on 1-684 to Exit
7. (See above directions from Exit 7.)

FROM CONNECTICUT: 1-84 to New York. 1-684 South to Exit 8
(Hardscrabble Road). Turn left onto Rt. 22 South to Rt.
116. Turn right onto Rt. 116 West. (See directions from
Exit 7.)

Adriatic Institute

on

Atlas Economic Research Foundation

Dear friends and partners of the Adriatic Institute for Public Policy and the International Leaders Summit,

Atlas Economic Research Foundation based in Washington, DC on their website under "Latest Headlines" announces the launch of the Adriatic Institute for Public Policy.

Please visit: http://www.atlasusa.org

Sincere regards,
Joel
----
Joel Anand Samy
President, World Development and Empowerment
Co-Director, International Leaders Summit

WDE - International Leaders Summit
37736 Starflower Street
P.O. Box 964
Newark, California 94560
USA

WDE-International Leaders Summit
Zagreb
Croatia

WDE-International Leaders Summit
Markovici 15
51000 Rijeka
Croatia

Cell: +385-91-516-9129 (Croatia)
T/F: +385-51-626-582 (Croatia)
F: +385-1-655-7177 (Croatia)
Email: JoelAnandSamy@aol.com
www.wdeusa.org 
www.ils-wde.org
 

Croatian Scampi pioneer

The following appeared in today's New Zealand Herald. John Kraljic, Esq.

Scampi pioneer sells out for $137m

02.10.2004
By LIAM DANN
Nearly 40 years after Ivan Simunovich opened a small fish'n'chip shop in Glen Innes, his family sold the business yesterday for $137 million to corporate giant Sanford. Managing director Peter Simunovich said his father, a Croatian immigrant, only became involved in fishing because he needed a stable supply for his shop.

The fishing business grew steadily through the 1970s and '80s, but it was the decision to start harvesting scampi - a deep-water crustacean that looks like a cross between a prawn and a lobster -that paid off for the family in the 1990s. Now, Simunovich Fisheries dominates the lucrative scampi trade.

The sale catapults the Simunovich family - the sole shareholders - into the nation's rich list.

It does not quite bring to an end the controversy surrounding the allocation of scampi quota during the past three years.

Sanford is buying all of Simunovich's assets, including its fishing quota.

Concerns about the Ministry of Fisheries' handling of the Simunovich scampi quota resulted in two Government inquiries, and a decision on some parts of the quota is under appeal.

Sanford will pay cash immediately for the assets that can be handed over now. Settlement for the rest will be progressive as legal approvals come through.

Simunovich said scampi had provided the highs and lows of his career.

The highlight was his family's work to pioneer the harvesting and international marketing of the New Zealand scampi variety. The low was the "horrible fight" over quota.

Simunovich and his sister, Donna, were directors but they will step down once the transition to Sanford is complete.

Simunovich said he would take a breather before deciding on his next move.

The family had a few other interests such as property investments, but it was likely there would eventually be other opportunities to explore.

"I'm not too old yet."

Simunovich said he and his father were pleased to be selling to Sanford, a company with a long history "that was not bound by treaties or anything else".

Sanford managing director Eric Barratt said the Simunovich assets would be a good fit.

As a much larger exporter, Sanford would be able to use its scale to find synergies in the processing and marketing of scampi.

"There is an opportunity to improve the market channels and the net return back to New Zealand."
 

A photo of Korcula

on the National Geographic Traveler Magazine front cover

The October 2004 issue of National Geographic Traveler Magazine features a photo of Korcula on its front cover. The photo is published in connection with the cover story entitled "The New Grand Tour."

John Kraljic, Esq.

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/traveler/

Former Croatia coach Blazevic to run for president

Wed Oct 6, 5:54 AM ET

ZAGREB (AFP) - Former Croatia coach Miroslav Blazevic, who led the Balkan country to third place at the 1998 World Cup, is planning to run for president in elections due by February.

"Certain people have convinced me to run for the presidency, since they believe I could win," Blazevic -- nicknamed 'Ciro' -- told the Jutarnji List daily on Wednesday.

"They told me that I was the only one who can beat (President) Stipe Mesic."

The date for the elections is not yet fixed but they are due to be held by February, when Mesic's five-year term expires. Mesic has said he would run for a second term.

Blazevic claimed he could get the 10,000 signatures required to list as an independent candidate "in 24 hours".
"I only need an announcer at the Zagreb stadium to say that Ciro needs 10,000 signatures," he said.
The 68-year-old, who recently recovered from prostate surgery, is currently coaching Croatian first division side Varteks Varazdin.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20041006/sp_soccer_afp/fbl_cro_blazevic_041006095438

DODJITE I UPOZNAJTE PRVOG ISELJENICKOG KANDIDATA ZA PREDSJEDNIKA HRVATSKE KOJI SE BORI ZA INTERESE HRVATSKOG ISELJENISTVA
 

Subota 9. Listopada 2004. New York

Boris Miksic ce se susresti sa Hrvatima u popularnim hrvatskim okupljalistima (Albona, Luna, Scorpio)

12.30 p.m.Susret sa mladima u Valentinu
5.00 p.m. Fairview N. J. - susret sa Hrvatima New Jerseya
7.00 p.m. ISTRA KLUB- Banket (Ulaz slobodan)

Nedjelja 10. Listopada 2004.
10.45 a.m. Misa u Most Precious Blood Crkvi- Astoria

Susret sa zajednicom nakon Svete Mise.
1. p.m. - Zakuska u RUDAR KLUBU
3. p.m. ? HRVATSKI CENTAR na Manhattanu

Boris ce prisustvovati Lickom banketu za izgradnju Crkve u Udbini.

U organizaciji prijatelja Borisa Miksica
Za sve informacije telefon 1 - 888 94 BORIS

www.borismiksic.net

David Amram

B I O G R A P H Y

A Living American Treasure

David Amram has composed more than 100 orchestral and chamber music works, written many scores for Broadway theater and film including the classic scores Splendor in The Grass and The Manchurian Candidate, two operas including the ground-breaking Holocaust opera and ABC Television Event The Final Ingredient, and the score for the landmark 1959 Beat Generation documentary film with Jack Kerouac, Pull My Daisy. Amram and Kerouac collaborated on the title song and Amram appeared in the film. A pioneer player of jazz French horn, he is also a virtuoso on piano, numerous flutes and whistles, percussion, and dozens of folkloric instruments from 25 countries as well as improvising lyrics. He has collaborated with Leonard Bernstein (who chose him as The New York Philharmonic's first composer-in-residence in 1966), Langston Hughes, Dizzy Gillespie, Dustin Hoffman, Willie Nelson, Thelonious Monk, Odetta, Elia Kazan, Arthur Miller, Charles Mingus, Lionel Hampton, E. G. Marshall, and Tito Puente, among others.

For nearly three decades, Amram has brought his contagious enthusiasm, as music director, to young people's, family, and free summer concert programs for organizations including the Brooklyn Philharmonic, the Montreal Symphony, Toronto Symphony, and Chicago Symphony. As conductor, narrator, and soloist on instruments from all over the world, he combines jazz, Latin American, Middle Eastern, Native American, and folk musics of the world, in conjunction with the European classics. In the spring of 1995, the Brooklyn Academy of Music honored his quarter of a century as a pioneer of multicultural symphonic programming. He is the recipient of four honorary doctorates for his contribution to American music. He appears as guest conductor and soloist with major orchestras around the world, as well as touring internationally with his quartet, while continuing to produce a remarkable output of new compositions.

Recent commissions include A Little Rebellion: Thomas Jefferson, premiered at the Kennedy Center with E. G. Marshall narrating and Amram conducting members of the National Symphony Orchestra. This work was recorded in 1998. In January of 1997, Kokopelli: A Symphony in Three Movements, received its world premiere with Amram conducting the Nashville Symphony Orchestra. It was recorded in June of 1997, conducted by Kenneth Schermerhorn. Currently, David is completing a commissioned work for James Galway, world-renowned flutist, and symphony.

Amram has hosted television and radio specials, coordinating music and musicians designed specifically for the occasion. He appears frequently on national television, including four specials with Willie Nelson for Farm Aid, many times with the late Dizzy Gillespie, and numerous appearances on Late Night with David Letterman, Today Show, Good Morning America, and CBS Sunday Morning. His video, Origins of Symphonic Instruments, released by Educational Video, is in over 6,000 schools throughout the US and Canada. The award-winning documentary Amram Jam will be nationally televised and released as a home video in 1998. By the end of 1998 there will be twelve CD's of David Amram's music commercially available, ranging from his holocaust opera, The Final Ingredient, his symphonic works Three Concertos, to his classic film scores Splendor In The Grass and The Manchurian Candidate. His live jazz recording, Kerouac and Amram: Pull My Daisy, celebrates Kerouac and Amram's collaboration in the first-ever jazz poetry reading in New York City in 1957, and the subsequent 1959 film which combined Amram's chamber music and jazz with Jack Kerouac's narration. His best-selling autobiography, Vibrations, published in 1968, will be reissued in paperback by Viking Compass in the Fall of 1998.

David Amram is one of the most acclaimed composers of his generation, listed by BMI as one of the Twenty Most Performed Composers of Concert Music in the United States since 1974. With four honorary doctorates, he was recently honored by the City of New York for his years of innovative programming with the Brooklyn Philharmonic. David Amram can appear with your orchestra as conductor and soloist, in classical, contemporary, and popular formats or infusing programs with jazz and world music for Subscription Series, Pops, Family, Young People's and Children's concerts.

For more information, visit David Amram's website atwww.DavidAmram.com
 

Media contact:  Laura McLeod, (206) 297-3791,laurakmcleod@earthlink.net

For Immediate Release

Kill date:  Sunday, October 10, 2004

CROATIAFEST

Presented by Seattle Center and Festál

Washington State Croatian communities gather to share and

celebrate their culture

What:            CroatiaFest

When:           Sunday, October 10, 2004

Hours:           12:00 noon – 8:00 pm

Where:          Seattle Center – Center House

                     305 Harrison Street, Seattle

Cost:             Free

SEATTLE – Lively dance and compelling exhibits are just a hint of the multi-faceted experience awaiting visitors to the Northwest’s first-ever CroatiaFest.www.croatiafest.org.

  The day-long festival celebrates local Croatian Americans, their communities and their many accomplishments on Sunday, October 10 from 12:00 noon until 8:00 pm at Seattle Center.

While geographically close, this event marks the first time Northwest Croatians have joined together to create an all-encompassing production focused on their history and their homeland. 

“Our ethnic boundaries have changed so many times.  Croatia began as an independent ancient kingdom, came under control of other countries, and now, at last, is again its own country,” says organizer Alma Plancich.  “Planning this event – collaboratively – is an acknowledgement of our ethnic and cultural identity.  We came from the Adriatic Sea to the Pacific Ocean where we assimilated into our respective communities, but this event brings us all together.  It’s also an opportunity to share our culture with the larger community.” 

A day filled with music, song and dance also includes activities, seminars and exhibits, giving visitors to the festival insight into this distinct culture.  A presentation featuring traditional Croatian costumes – now worn primarily for special occasions and performances - emphasizes the beauty of original folk costumes and the people who wear them, and highlights the villages from which they originate.  A Croatian marketplace provides an essence of today’s Croatian culture, from specialty foods and jewelry, to Croatian art and music, and a taste of traditional Croatian coffee.  One of central Europe’s undiscovered jewels, a video tour highlights Croatia’s breathtaking landscapes. 

Visual Art & Exhibits

From Toronto, Canada, Croatian painter, sculptor, printmaker and poet Ante Sardelić exhibits paintings from his “Eternal Homeland” series, a touring tribute to his native land.  Originally from the city of Korčula, Sardelić’s abstract images draw from symbolism and modern Cubist styles – brightly colored, intertwined figurative shapes with symbolic landscapes.  Andrea Mohorovicic, from Zagreb’s Croatian Academy of Arts and Sciences, wrote of Sardelić’s work, “…a profound symphony of shapes, words and music.”  The exhibit has traveled to museums and galleries in cities around the world, but this is his first U.S. exhibit.  Sardelić will be available to answer questions and talk about his work. 

            Photo exhibits illustrate the stories of industrious immigrants and contemporary Croatian Americans in the Puget Sound region (see sidebar).  Contributing to the historical exhibit are the mining communities of Cle Elum, Ronald and Roslyn, the fishing communities of Gig Harbor, Tacoma, Everett, Anacortes and Bellingham, and the logging communities of Grays Harbor County.  This exhibit also includes artifacts.  Croats in Washington State number about 40,000.

Film screenings include a recent documentary by two local filmmakers, Paul Dahlke and Adam Bobboni, and Hrvati!, a half-hour award-winning documentary by Jean Wakinshaw (with support from the National Endowment for the Arts and KCTS Public Television), about the Anacortes Croatian community in the 1970s and ‘80s (1:00 – 4:00, Conference Room level).   

Activities

            Workshops and seminars are offered throughout the afternoon.  Children can learn some simple, but fun, Croatian dance steps and get their favorite Croatian design or even a butterfly drawn on their face!

Special guest, master musician and maker of instruments, Nick Petrish, originally from Anacortes but now residing in Dubrovnik, Croatia, returns to the Northwest for CroatiaFest.  An authority on Croatian music and dance, he is one of few Americans who hand-makes the traditional Croatian lijerica, a pear-shaped string instrument resembling the Greek lyre that is played with a bow.  Petrish will conduct a seminar highlighting the ancient folk dance called Lindjo from 5:00 – 6:00 p.m.  Originating in small villages north of Dubrovnik to celebrate special occasions, dancers of the Lindjo are traditionally accompanied by the lijerica.

Music & Dance

Performers from around the Northwest include nationally acclaimed Vela Luka Croatian Dance Ensemble and the Ruže Dalmatinke Orchestra (based in Anacortes), Sinovi, Seattle Junior Tamburitzans,Radost Folk Ensemble, Pasko & Damir, and Dave & the Dalmatians, and from Vancouver, BC, Kardinal Stepinac.  Dances often represent regions, traditions and various stages of Croatian history, and are presented with elaborate costumes, lively music and singing.  Native Slavic tradition melds with the outside influences of Spanish, Greek, Italian, Hungarian and Central European folk traditions.  Costuming also reflects these influences -contrasting the red and white flax, wool and silk of colonial styles with bright, bold embroidered colors and woven textures.

A dance party wraps up the day’s festivities beginning at 6:00 p.m. when Sinovi,Pasko & Damir, and the Ruže Dalmatinke Orchestra pick up the pace with foot-tapping music and infectious dancing.  The tamburica (Croatia’s national instrument), accordion and other traditional instruments combine with regional vocal styles – including the open-throat style of interior Croatia and the bel canto style found at the Adriatic coast – for a sound that’s upbeat and unmistakable.  Everyone is invited to kick up their heels and get out on the dance floor!

More Information 

Dr. Frank Brozovich, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Croatia for Washington State, or Alma Plancich, festival organizer, are available to provide more information.  Ms. Plancich immigrated to the United States by way of Italy and Venezuela after World War II.  She is also a member and one of the founders (the other is her sister, Binki) of the Ruže Dalmatinke Orchestra (Ruže Dalmatinke means Dalmatian Roses, a name she was given as a child while singing at a refugee camp in Italy).   

Photos are of Vela Luka Croatian Dance Ensemble and were taken by Jal Schrof.

2004 marks the ninth year of Seattle Center's Festál, a coalition of cultural community festivals designed to preserve and share traditions of individual cultures. Not-for-profit cultural associations, such as CroatiaFest and Seattle Center produce the free family-oriented festivals on an annual basis. Festál welcomes CroatiaFest as part of its ongoing commitment to building a rich and varied community.  For more information on Festál, visitwww.seattlecenter.com or call (206) 684-7200.