Janica Kostelić is without any doubt the greatest female skier of all times: she won three gold medals and one silver at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, USA. She also won five gold medals at the World Championships. In World Cup competition, she won thirty individual races, three overall titles, three slalom titles, and four combined titles. She is the greatest Croatian sportswoman in history. Her brother Ivica Kostelić is the most successful Croatian skier in history. Their successes are a result of a long-term family project, directed by their father Ante Kostelić.
Author: Nenad N. Bach and Darko Žubrinić
Buddha – one of the most popular saints in the Christian calendar of the Middle Ages
Could you ever imagine that one of the most popular saints in the Christian calendar of the Middle Ages was – Buddha? After ten years of researche, Katarina Livljanić and her ensemble Dialogos, bring the incredible story of saints Barlaam and Josaphat, a christianized version of Buddha’s life, which crossed over at least four religions and was transmitted through almost all the medieval languages. Powerful songs sing the legend about the king’s son, prince Josaphat, who leaves the noisy world of opulence to search for inner peace – songs which follow the path of his story from one medieval language to another, from Greek, Latin to Old Croatian, Italian, Church Slavonic…
National Mathematics Day of India marked in Zagreb Croatia on 22nd December 2022
According to the initiative of H. E. Mr. Raj Kumar Srivastava, the National Mathematics Day of India was marked in Zagreb on 22nd December 2022. Each such event is dedicated to the memory of Srinivasa Ramanujan (1887-1920), the greatest Indian mathematician in history. Several Croatian mathematicians participated in the event: Professors Hrvoje Kraljević, Marko Tadić (Fellow of Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts), Marcela Hanzer, Rudi Mrazović, and Neven Elezović. The first such event was organized in Zagreb in December 2021.
Anthony F. Lucas the father of Petroleum Engineering entering into the history of cooking
Anthony F. Lucas (1856-1928), born in the city of Split, Croatia, discovered the first major gusher in 1901, in Texas, Spindletop. He is the father of Petroleum Engineering. An excellent illustration of the possibilities of this petroleum was provided at a dinner given at Port Arthur, Tex., in 1901 to the directors of a large producing and refining company. A special salad was served with some show of ceremony and, after the guests had partaken of it, the toast-master asked them for their gastronomic opinions. The verdict was favorable — unanimously so. They then were informed that the oil used on the salad was not a ‘ ‘Lucca oil,” but a “Lucas oil”.
Ivana M. Vidovic in Granada with Frano Kakarigi – encounter of pianist and double bassist
For any musician who has been involved in music, in this context classical, since early childhood, performing in the imposing and magnificent Granada with a Spanish-Hispanic repertoire perfectly arranged with great colleagues in the ensemble, but also with another Croat, Frano Kakarigi, our respected double bass player from Dubrovnik with an address in Granada, it is probably like one of the dreams come true that all those who are truly involved in music could long for!
MICROBLINK a mobile vision software development company founded in Croatia in 2012
Microblink is a mobile vision software development company. BlinkID enables scanning of over 100 international identity documents including driving licenses, national identity cards, passports and others. PDF417 SDK or WEB API enables scanning and parsing 1D and 2D barcodes such as QR, PDF417, and others. PhotoPay SDK captures payment information from standardized and non-standard payment slips and it’s often used in mobile banking apps. BlinkReceipt SDK captures raw OCR data or structured information from retail receipts. This technology grew out from experience accumulated from PhotoMath, created by Jurica Cerovec and his colleagues in Croatia’s capital Zagreb.
Croatian football team winning bronze medal of golden glitter at the 2022 World Championship in Qatar
Croatia 2 – Marocco 1 is a result in Qatar which enabled Croatia winning its second bronze medal (in 1998 in France and in 2022), besides silver medal won in 2018 (in the Russian Federation). Continuity of excellent results of Croatian team are due not only to talent, but also to perserverance and hard work, under the baton of Zlatko Dalić, and under the baton of Ćiro Blažević in France. The result is all the more amazing when one sees some truly top quality representations being left behind Croatia: Brazil, England, Spain, Germany, Portugal, Japan, Marocco, Italy, Belgium, etc. (altogether 211 countries).
Croatia 1 (4) – Brazil 1 (2) at the World Football Tournament in Qatar 2022
Croatia, opponents should know by now, does not exit the World Cup without a fight. The Brazilians got a late goal. The Croatians answered with an even later one scored by Bruno Petković (on the photo; born in the city of Metković). The game went to a penalty-kick shootout. And only then, with eight quick kicks breaking a tie after 120 minutes could not, was it over. Croatia was heading to the semifinals. (The New York Times. Croatian coach Zlatko Dalić: “We have a strong character and we do not give up. We were prepared for everything today. We knew that as the game unfolded, our chances would improve.”
Japan 1 (1) – Croatia 1 (3) at the 2022 World Championship in footaball in Qatar
The teams of Japan and Croatia couldn’t be separated in 90 minutes, pushing the match into extra-time for the first time in this edition of the FIFA World Cup. Even in the extra-time, the two teams couldn’t be separated. The Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livaković (on the photo) stepped up in the shootout as his side secured a 3-1 (1-1) win in the penalty shootout. Dominik Livaković is married to Helena, who is these days with him in Qatar.
Tatiana Tajci Cameron Croatian singer in the USA
In 2019, Tajci launched a new touring show with Live on Stage agency. Tajci’s recent biographical book “(un)Broken” combines poetry and song to augment memories from her diary that chronicle her intimate accounts of how music and the creative process can promote the healing of emotional pain. Tajci is co-songwriter of Olivia Newton-John’s latest hit single “Window in the Wall”. She is a Board Member of Nashville Peacemakers, a Better Decisions volunteer mentor at TN State Prison for Women, and a volunteer presenter for EndSlaveryTN.
Martina Filjak – the official portrait of distinguished Croatian pianist
One of the most exciting artists to emerge in recent years, Martina Filjak is garnering international praise for her poetic passion and technical mastery at the keyboard as well as for her charismatic personality and magnetic stage presence. The artist’s extensive repertoire ranges from Bach to Berio and encompasses more than 30 piano concertos. She is dedicated to continuous exploring of piano literature and various concert formats. Based in Berlin, Martina speaks seven languages.
George Mikan Lakers Jersey Retirement Ceremony in 2022
The Los Angeles Lakers retired George Mikan’s No. 99 jersey in a ceremony on October 30, 2022, when the Lakers hosted the Denver Nuggets at Crypto.com Arena. All fans in attendance received a George Mikan replica jersey. The 1948 National Basketball League MVP and four-time All-Star helped lead the then Minneapolis Lakers to five championships (1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954) and was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1959. Donning a Lakers uniform, Mikan led the league in scoring in three consecutive seasons (1948-51) and was the league’s leading rebounder in back-to-back campaigns (1951-53). He was six-times the All-NBA First Team selection.
Croatian – Indian Links, monograph marking 30 years of diplomatic relations 1992-2022
The publication Croatian-Indian Links: Thirty Chapters for Thirty Years of Diplomatic Relations (1992-EUR”2022) marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between and India and Croatia and highlights a legacy in which the contributions of our writers, scholars, artists, travellers, politicians are unified in one volume. Some chapters in the volume present certain important individuals and others present some themes or groups of individuals. Preparing this publication was suggested by H. E. Mr. Raj Kumar Srivastava, ambassador of India to Croatia (on the photo).
Ping Pong Parkinson World Championship in Pula, Croatia 2022
U pulskoj dvorani Mate Parlov započelo je Ping Pong Parkinson World Championship Pula 2022, Svjetsko prvenstvo u stolnom tenisu za osobe s dijagnozom Parkinsonove bolesti. Na svjetskom prvenstvu, koje je trajalo od 12. do 16. listopada 2022., došlo je više od 400 sudionika, članova pratnje i natjecatelja iz 22 države svijeta. Pokretač ovog prvenstva je neprofitna američka zaklada Ping Pong Parkinson, kojoj je na čelu hrvatsko-američki glazbenik Nenad Bach, izvođač, producent i mirovni aktivist, i sam obolio od Parkinsona.
Borna Coric winning Cincinnati Tennis Masters in 2022
Ranked No. 152 and in the tournament via a protected ranking, Čorić capped a remarkable week that included a second round victory over Rafael Nadal with a brilliant final that no doubt marks the 25-year-old Croatian as a dark horse contender at Flushing Meadows. The title was the third of Čorić career but his first since 2018 and will see him jump up the rankings to world No. 29 on Monday and he will be seeded at the U.S. Open. Among Croatian tennis players, Marin Čilić won the Cincinnati ATP Tournament in 2016.
Michael Buble Canadian global singing star of Croatian / Italian origin
Michael Buble has Croatian roots on his father’s side, and Italian on his mother’s side. More precisely, Michael Steven Buble was born in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada in 1975, the son of Lewis Buble, a fisherman with Croatian ancestry from the island of Lošinj, and Amber (nee Santaga), of Italian origin. He and his wife Luisana Lopilato have four children. The second name Buble is Croatian, and should be pronounced as boobl:e . Michael Buble visited Croatia in 2019, and had an emotional 2-hour concert in the city of Zagreb.
Epidaurus Festival, Cavtat, Croatia, 3 – 18 September 2022, directed by Ivana Marija Vidovic
The XVI-th Epidaurus Festival in Cavtat near Dubrovnik has international character, consisting of music and arts perfomances. The participants arrive from Argentina – Luis Horacio Caruana, Mariano Siccardi, Holland – Marijke Brekelmans and Ronald Drenton, Canada – Sunny Maria Ritter, Ukraine – Irina Smirnova, Italy – Piano duo Aventaggiato Matarrese, and representing Croatia – Diego Vitasović, Nika Ružarija Orepić, Miloš and Olivera Krivokapić, Đuro Vidmarović, Radojka Šverko, Ksenija Prohaska, etc. The spiritus movens is indefatigable Ivana Marija Vidović, the founder and director of the Festival (on the photo, on the right).
Yoko Nishii's pianist concert tour in Croatia for 2022: Vinkovci, (R)upanja, Vukovar, Rijeka
Yoko Nishii is touring Croatia again: Vinkovci, 12th September (Music school “Josip Runjanin” at 19:00), (R)upanja, 13th September u 19:30 (Pastoral – cultural center), Vukovar, 15th September at 19 sati (Marble Hall of Eltz Palace). Yoko Nishii is a Japanese pianist. She speaks Croatian, and until now had 50 soloist concerts throughout Croatia, in as many as 24 cities and towns.
Mladen Bestvina delivered a plenary lecture at International Congress of Mathematicians for 2022
Professor Mladen Bestvina (on the photo with his wife) is a Croatian-Americna mathematician, born in 1959 in the city of Osijek, Croatia. He completed his studies of Mathematics at the University of Zagreb. He was a successful competitor at International Mathematical Olympiads for High School students. In the past twenty years he achieved spectacular results in Geometric Group Theory, for which he had an honor of delivering a plenary lecture on 10th July 2022 at the International Congress of Mathematicians. The ICM is organized every fourth year, and for each Congress about 14 pleanry lecturers are chosen who had the most important contributions in the field of Mathematical sciences in the previous period.
Peljesac bridge connecting Croatia with EU and China
The Peljesac Bridge, constructed by a Chinese consortium led by the China Road and Bridge Corporation, across the Bay of Mali Ston in the Adriatic Sea in southern Croatia, connecting the country’s mainland with the Peljesac Peninsula, has officially opened to traffic on Tuesday, making it easier for locals to travel. As the largest construction project of transportation infrastructure since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Croatia, the Peljesac Bridge, 2,440 meters long and 22.5 meters wide, is also a model project for China, Croatia and the EU to carry out tripartite cooperation.