Croatian Tamburitza Club Zvonimir

llar Spiletak. Along with thousands of others at the turn of the century, a large number of people migrated from “Hrvatskog Primorja” (Croatia by the sea) and Dalmatia, looking for work and fortune in the new world. Among this group was a young cabinet maker, Ilar Spiletak, born December 19, 1876. Spiletak journeyed to America in the year 1901, settling in San Francisco, California. When other young men moved to San Francisco from Dubrovnik and surrounding places, Spiletak had within the year, on August 28, 1902, organized one of the first tamburitza groups among the immigrants in America. This group was called the Hrvatsko Tamburitza Drustvo “ZVONIMIR” (Croatian Tambura Club “ZVONIMIR”). The club “ZVONIMIR” ordered its first tambura instruments from the then well-known firm of T. Kovacic, in Zagreb.  The group used these instruments until they were destroyed in the big earthquake of April, 1906.  New tambure were ordered from the immigrant manufacturer Marohnic, in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. At this time, the group changed its name to “GUNDULIC” under which title the group worked until 1934 when it changed its name to the “Hrvatsko-Americki Tamburaski Zbor” (Croatian-American Tambura Group). The group used the Farkas system of tambura with two bisernica’s, two kontrasica’s, three rac’s, two bugarija’s and a berde. Beside this early group, Spiletak is reputed to have organized at least ten other tamburitza groups.

PICTURE

In the accompanying picture the members of the group are: First row, L to R- Ivan Kubicek from Ston, Anton Zec from Korcula, Ilar Spiletak from Dubrovnik, Anton Marinovich and Ivan Tedeski from Korcula. Second row, L to R- Anton Lozica from Korcula, Ivo Baca from Ston, Glicerinjo De Polo from Korcula, Martin Sukle, a Slovene and Karlo Pomaisel from Dubrovnik.