In Budapest, Hungary, on 24 May 2016, Luka Sulic and Stjepan Hauser made the crowd roar and scream by playing instrumental covers of songs by U2, Michael Jackson and Nirvana. “We want to show the possibilities of cello playing,” Mr. Sulic said before the show. “To break the boundaries between different genres of music.” Mr. Hauser laughed and put it more bluntly: “I wanted to have screaming girls in the audience, which we get now for sure.” Katja Kinnunen, who came from Finland: “If you play with passion, that’s my thing,” she said. “They blew my mind.”
Author: Nenad N. Bach and Darko Žubrinić
Stipe Miocic became the UFC World Heavyweight Champion in 2016
Stipe Miočić, USA, born in 1982 to Croatian immigrants, is an American mixed martial artist competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) where he is the current UFC World Heavyweight Champion. He defeated Brazilian champion Fabricio Werdum in front of 45000 fans in Curitiba, Brazil.. His height is 6 ft 4 in (193 cm). In a few occasions he visited Croatia, the land of his parents, where he also met with Mirko CroCop (Mirko Filipović), who is one of his idols. After winning his title, Stipe Mioč will rest in Croatia from May to August 2016. Croatian fans describe him as a perfectly normal and pleasant person.
MEETING G2.2 10-12 October 2016 in Zagreb offering new business opportunities for Croatia and its diaspora
We are happy to see that the connection between Croatians of the diaspora has become a world-wide trend and that there are many „sibling“ Meeting G2 conferences around the world. This year two successful conferences took place in North America (Washington, USA) and in South America (Santa Cruz, Bolivia), while future conferences have already been announced: Chile and Chicago in 2017, Paraguay in 2018 and Australia soon to be announced! On the photo Mara Vitols Hrgetić and Josip Hrgetić, successful entrepreneurs in Croatia, owners of the FORUM Centre in Zagreb..
Andrija Colak & Denis Polic founded Surf'n'Fries franchise in Rijeka Croatia awarded in Las Vegas
Andrija Čolak and Denis Polić, two young Croatians from the city of Rijeka, founded Surfnfries franchise company in their native city in 2010. Since then, in only six years, their franchise network has grown to 40 franchise companies. Their attached companies are blossoming not only in Croatia, but also in Germany, Hungary, Austria, Ireland, Norway, Turkey, Iran, Vietnam, Thailand, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, etc. On February 15th 2015 in Las Vegas Andrija Čolak received an award given out by the International Franchise Association for Next Generation Franchising.
Beautiful Croatia founded and directed by Amanda Grbavac organized an event in New York on 26 April 2016
Beautiful Croatia will be hosting stylish and unique events throughout the year. With over 15 years of experience in events, Beutiful Croatia also offers an event management service, to help make your destination dream event a reality. Beautiful Croatia presents all this to you with style, lots of love and happy spirit. On travels around the world, there was always one country that stood out for me like the brightest gem, it stole my heart and never let me go. That country was Beautiful Croatia. On the photo Sylvio Roubertto Kovacic, haute couture fashion designer, Amanda Grbavac founding director of Beautiful Croatia and Robert Grgurev, President of Startas USA.
Croatian Vocal Group Roots / Vokalna skupina Korijeni from Chicago, USA
Croatian Vocal Group Korijeni (i.e., Roots) is a non-profit traditional Croatian folk singing group. The group focuses on singing traditional a capella songs in 3 to 4 part harmony. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has recognized several forms of Croatian singing: Klapa, Beearac, Ojkanje, Istrian 2-part singing. Vokalna Skupina Korijeni intends to perpetuate traditional forms of Croatian singing. we are extremely honored to have the Zagrebaeki Folklorni Ansambl (ZFA) coming to Milwaukee to perform a concert. The ensemble will present a concert in Milwaukee on Tuesday, November 15th 2016 at the Alverno Colllege Pitman Theatre.
Ivana Marija Vidovic and Diana Hilje celebrating Rugjer Boskovic in Brera in Milano, Italy, 17 May 2016
Under the name of VOX RAGUSEI, two distinguished Croatian artists, mezzosoprano Diana Hilje and Ivana Marija Vidović, pianist, both from the city of Dubrovnik, will be hosted by the University Library of Brera in Milano, Italy. They will have an exceptional honor to perfom music pieces by Jelena Pucić Sorkočević (1786-1865), the first Croatian woman composer, and Luka Sorkočević (1734-1789), known for his beautiful simphonies. Brera is famous for its astronomical observatory, founded by Ruđer Bošković, SJ (1711-1787), one of the greatest Croatian scientists in history, and the music event will be dedicated to his memory.
KISHA, the first Croatian smart umbrella that you'll never lose created by Andrija Colak
KISHA is the world’s first smart umbrella. Never lose it, always take it with you when it rains. With KISHA, you’ll never ever worry about getting soaking wet. It’s connected with a mobile app on your iPhone or Android and tells you each morning (or any other time of the day) if it’s going to rain. It also reminds you when you leave it in a pub, bar, restaurant or any other public place. Smart? We’d rather say intelligent! The meaning of KISHA in Croatian is RAIN. Of course, you will get umbrella, not rain 🙂 On the photo Andrija Eolak, getkisha.com
MEETING G2.2 Conference in Zagreb 10-12 October 2016 aiming at revitalisation of Croatian economy
It is very important that Croats living outside the Republic of Croatia be connected with each other, not only with the Croats in the homeland. We wish to strenghten our impact on the Office for Croats outside Republic of Croatia and on Matica Iseljenika around the world, and to connect more strongly with the emmigration Congress and Croatian World Congress, in order to achieve synergy through the cultural, ethnological and business cooperation. On the photo Mara Vitols Hrgetić, Program Director of the meeting. MEETING G2.2 Conference is organized at the Forum Center in Zagreb 10-12 October 2016
St Leopold Bogdan Mandic Croatian saint visited Croatia in April 2016
St Leopold Bogdan Mandic (1866-1942, memorial day 30th July) was born in Herceg Novi in Boka kotorska, and died in Padova, Italy. Physically malformed and delicate, having height only 1m 35cm, with clumsy walk and stuttering, he developed tremendous spiritual strength. Although he wanted to be missionary in Eastern Europe, he spent almost all of his adult life in Italy, and lived in Padova from 1906 until the end of his life. He spent also one year in Italian prison during the WWI, since he did not want to renounce his Croatian nationality.
Branko Leskovar 1930-2016 distinguished Croatian-American expert in Electrical Engineering & Electronics
Dr Branko Leskovar, born in Croatia’s capital Zagreb, earned his PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Zagreb. Since 1965 he worked atthe Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley. His work in resolution studies of electro-optical devices has had profound benefits on development and manufacturing of new devices with significantly improved characteristics. These methods have been accepted world-wide by government and industrial laboratories. Upon retirement, he served as Scientific Advisor to numerous universities and US government agencies. He was a fellow of IEEE and Sigma Xi societies.
Yoko Nishii's humanitarian concert in Zagreb during the Japanese Culture Week in March 2016
This humanitarian concert of Yoko Nishii, Japan, has been organized by the Embassy of Japan in Zagreb in cooperation with Croatian Society for Training Guide Dogs and for Mobility. She played the works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Franz Liszt i Ferrucci Busonij, Frédéric Chopin, Eric Satie, Dora Pejačević, Kozaburo Hirai, Kosaku Yamada i Tooru Takemitsu. In Tokyo in 2015, she published the first CD in the world, which includes all pianistic compostions of distinguished Croatian female composer Dora Pejačević.
Bruno Vlahek distinguished Croatian pianist and composer
Pianist and composer Bruno Vlahek has distinguished himself as one of the most prominent and versatile musicians of his generation; being praised by the critics for his “fantastic virtuosity” and “depth of musical thought that bewitches the audience”. Born 1986 in Zagreb (Croatia), it was there that he received first piano lessons at the age of 9. He is also active as a concert organist and composer. His music has been performed on five continents in cities such as New York, Chicago, London, Berlin, Amsterdam, Cambridge, Lisbon, Prague, Vienna, Salzburg, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Seoul, Sydney and Zagreb.
Roman Krznaric popular philosopher and his new book Carpe Diem Reclaimed
Roman Krznaric is a cultural thinker and writer on the art of living and social change. His bestselling books, which include Empathy, The Wonderbox and How to Find Fulfilling Work, have been published in over 20 languages. His writings have been widely influential political and environmental campaigners, education reformers, social entrepreneurs, psychologists and designers. He is founder of the world’s first Empathy Museum and is also a founding faculty member of The School of Life. Roman has been named by The Observer as one of Britain’s leading popular philosophers.
Ines Trickovic Croatian Jazz Vocalist and Friends performing at Carnegie Hall NY April 6, 2016, 8 PM
Ines Trickovic, a Croatian jazz singer based in Macau, joins forces with young jazz artists Brian Girley, Julian Shore, Gilad Hekselman, Marion Ross III, Shin Sakaino, and Marcus Gilmore. Their music is strongly influenced by jazz, as well as cinema and contemporary music. Songs are composed and arranged by Brian Girley and Ines Trickovic, with the exception of a few classical jazz pieces from the American Songbook and a traditional Croatian song, paying homage to their musical background. They will be performing at Carnegie Hall NY, Weill Recital Hall, April 6, 2016, 8 PM.
My Little Piece of Land is award finalist for the NATURA 2000 AWARD by EU Commission
The objective of this project was to increase the public’s awareness of farmers’ important role in protecting Croatia’s Natura 2000 habitats and species. Most citizens in rural areas are still insufficiently informed about the existence and meaning of Natura 2000. The project was a collaboration between a private company, Suske Consulting, the Croatian State Institute for Nature Protection and the German Association for Landcare, an umbrella organisation representing agriculture, nature conservation and policy. On the photo Marija Martinko, a participant of the project.
Carolina Blaskovic Croatian violinist wins American Protege International Piano & Strings Competition 2016
Carolina Blaskovic from Zagreb, Croatia, who is currently studying at the Royal College of Music in London, is just 20 years of age, and was the youngest of 62 participants in the College students and professional musicians category in ths years competition. The American Protege International Piano and Strings Competition is open to adults and school students of all nationalities. She beat participants from around the world, including Australia, Hungary, Korea and the United States. Thanks to her winning performance, she has been given the rare chance to perform at the spectacular Carnegie Hall in New York.
Ivana Marija Vidovic performing with Albanian and Croatian musicians in Austria and Slovenia in April 2016
Ivana Marija Vidović, distinguished Croatian pianist, will be performing in April 2016 with an Albanian Trio and with Krešimir Marmilić on the tour including Austria and Slovenia. This tour is a result of and continuation of fruitful music collaboration between Croatia and Albania, established during the past years by Ivana Marija Vidović (on the photo with maestro Fatos Qerimaj), founder and director of the prestigious Epidaurus Festival in the Cavtat near the city of Dubrovnik. The concert in Gmunden, Austria, takes place on 15th April 2016, while in Slovenia, it will be held on 17th April in Kazinska festivalska dvorana (SNG, Slovensko Narodno Gledališče) in Maribor and on 19th April in the Church of St. Martin in Bled.
Miro Gavran's comedy premiered in Lithuania's capital Vilnius on 10 March 20016
Miro Gavran’s comedy “Henpecked Husbands” had its premiere in popular theater Domino in Vilnius, Lithuania, on March 10th. Director is Kostas Smoriginas, main roles are performed by Edita Užaite, Ineta Stasiulyte, Eimutis Kvoščiauskas, Mantas Vaitiekunas, Andrius Bialobžeskis, Evaldas Jaras and Sandra Daukšaite-Petrulene. The works of Miro Gavran have been translated into 38 languages. His books had over 200 editions in Croatia and abroad. Based on his dramas and comedies, there were more than 300 theatric premieres worldwide, seen by more than three million of people.
Mia Negovetic Croatian teen singing prodigy participating in the Steve Harvey NBC show 2016
As part of NBC’s new midseason shows in 2016, Little Big Shots follows Steve Harvey as he showcases the nation’s most extraordinary young people. Among them is Mia Negovetić, very beautiful 13 year old lady from Croatia, who is an unusual singing talent. However, her major interest for the future is cooking, so she plans to becom a singing cook. The show is superbly directed by Steve Harvey, who learned his first Croatian words from Mia – “Bog, kako si?” (Hello, how are you?). Mia spent 9 days in Los Angeles filming for the show which has just started to air in the U.S.