The monograph And the hand of the Lord was with them / Celebrating 50 Years of Pastoral Care among Croats of Melbourne , written by Dr Pavo Jurišić, is dedicated to Croatian immigrants in Australia, especially those in Melbourne who lived their faith and represented their homeland, and to their fellow countrymen in Australia, their new homeland which accepted them and gave them shelter.
Category: Croatian Life Stories
Ilko Corkovic, a Croatian refugee from Bosnia and Herzgovina becomes Mayor in Sweden in 2015
Mr. Ilko Ćorković (48 years of age in 2015) left the city of Banja Luka in 1993 as one among numerous Croatian refugees during the Serbian aggression on Bosnia and Herzegovina. Accompanied with his wife and a young daughter, one and a half years old at the time, he arrived to the island of Oland in Sweden. With innate optimism, strong will and hard work, he was subsequently able to enroll at the Faculty of Economy, which he successfuly completed in 2000. In 2015 he was elected Mayor of the town of Borgholm on the island of Oland.
Paul Musin promoter of Cricket in Croatia and creator of the portal Croatia Week
Originally from New Zealand, Paul Musin (left) moved to Croatia, and is a member of the Croatian Cricket Federation, where his primary role is to administer and develop the game of cricket in Croatia, right from coaching kids in schools, up to everything to do with the Croatian national side. If that weren’t enough to keep him busy, he decided to create the now popular website Croatia Week.
Violet Grgich: Following Your Own Path While Keeping the Legacy
To every immigrant (and every winemaker) Mike Grgich’s journey is tremendously inspiring and empowering. He arrived in America poor but hopeful, and eventually achieved a level of success that placed him on the menus of famous restaurants, the White House wine cellar, in history books and the Smithsonian Museum. Mike Grgich is a giant, but Violet Grgich (left), the proprietor and vice president of Grgich Hills Estates, is clearly not overshadowed by his success; she lets her own soul shine through with much genuine love and gratitude.
Warren Mason – Kurt Cobain’s Music Teacher Shares His Great Musical Gift
In a neat little house in Aberdeen, surrounded by well-cared-for shrubs and trees, lives Warren Mason (left), the man who taught Kurt Cobain to play guitar and to write music. The veteran all-round musician, guitarist, fiddler and violinist plays and teaches all styles of music from folk, rock and jazz to classical on every major string instrument except harp. Warren Mason was born into the Croatian immigrant community in Raymond. His mother was Bonita Medak whose parents Joe and Yerka Medak had come over from the old country.
How to travel the world with almost no money
Tomislav Perko, 29 (left), is a travel writer from Croatia. After a career of a stockbroker, broke because of the financial crisis, he hits the road and turns it into his home. He uses alternative ways of traveling – hitchhiking, couchsurfing, working/volunteering, and manages to wander around the world with just a little bit of money in his pocket, meeting the most amazing people on the way. Five years later, he publishes a book “1000 Days of Spring” and goes around giving lectures about what it means to live on the road.
Super Bowl XLIX will be a battle of the Croatians
What do Pete Carroll of the Seattle Seahawks, Bill Belichick, and Rob Ninkovich of the New England Patriots all have in common? If you guessed that they all had ties to Croatia, give yourself a pat on the back and get ready for Super Boxwl XLIX! That’s right Sunday’s game features a battle of the Croatians. If you are interested in reading about the trio’s Croatian ties then read on!
Michael Bilandic mayor of Chicago 1977-1979 proud of his Croatian heritage
Michael Bilandic was born in 1923 in Chicago, Illinois and was one of four children born of his Croatian immigrant parents. His father was from a village near Sinj, Croatia and his mother was from the island of Brac, also in Croatia. In 1977 he was elected as Chicago’s 40th mayor until 1979. He was devoted to his family, faithful to his church, and proud of his Croatian heritage. He was presented the Vinodol Code Award in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the administration of justice in Illinois.
Documentary about Mia Slavenska, Mia, a Dancer's Journey to be screened in NYC on January 31, 2015
Don’t miss the only New York City screening of “Mia, a Dancer’s Journey,” January 31st, 3:30 p.m. at Lincoln Center’s Walter Reade Theater. The film is a daughter’s promise to tell her mother’s story which serves as the starting point for this documentary on the life of the celebrated Croatian ballerina Mia Slavenska, which becomes a fascinating and moving reflection on historical memory, national identity, and the power of dance. The film retraces Mia’s journey from tumultuous prewar Europe through her emergence as a glamorous ballerina of the Ballets Russes and a star attraction on stages across America, culminating with her return to her homeland.
Ane Strazicic Rodriguez: Traditional Croatian Cuisine From the Region of Dubrovnik
Ane was born on the Croatian island of Mljet, where she grew up in a fisherman’s family, which instilled in her a love for cooking. After moving to the United States in the late 1980’s, she married a professional chef from Puerto Rico, Luis Rodriguez, and had two children, Alberto and Michelle, who loved their Mom’s cooking and inspired her to compile the recipes from her native region in a cookbook. Story by Susanne Metz.
Ljiljana Coklin teaches writing at the University of California Santa Barbara
In the midst of the Croatian War of Independence, Ljiljana Coklin, today a lecturer in the Writing Department at UC Santa Barbara, was just a college student trying to complete her degree and escape chaos. Academically focused and driven, she finished her undergraduate education, and found immediate refuge in Canada. Today, she calls Santa Barbara her home. Her winding path to Santa Barbara brings up numerous unanswered questions of how she found her way here and where she’s headed. In her distinct Croatian accent, she opens up to answer these questions and tell her story.
Joso's Croatian Seafood Restaurant in Toronto in Stephen Holt's interview with Leo Spralia
Stephen Holt interviews Leo Spralia at Joso’s, one of Toronto’s top Seafood restaurants, during the Toronto International Film Festival as broadcast on the Stephen Holt Show. Sept.’02. The restaurant serves food prepared in Dalmatian way from Croatian coast. Owned and operated by Leo and Shirley Špralja and founded by Joso Špralja in the 1960′s, Joso’s restaurant has achieved continuous success of over 36 years in business and is considered a landmark of the Toronto hospitality scene. It has been visited by numerous celebrities, like Mike Jagger, Paul Newman, Jose Feliciano etc.
The Baron family's Croatian tamburitza band in the USA in 1930s
By age 12, the Baron kids were proficient on traditional Croatian tamburitza instruments such as the prim, tambura and bas-prim, and were put to work playing at weddings, apartments or wherever my great-grandfather could hire them out (places where shots of whiskey apparently flowed during breaks). Their parents are from Zagreb, Croatia, who carved out a life in Braddock, in a rented flat near Pittsburgh’s burgeoning steel mills.
Ljubo Krasic director of Croatian Ethnic Institute in Chicago, USA
The Franciscans established the Croatian Ethnic Institute in 1975, with headquarters in Chicago, for the purpose of preserving and promoting the Croatian heritage in the United States and Canada. This foundation was established with one far-sighted goal, namely, that all which is valuable and in any way related to the Croatians could be found in one place and used for various kinds of research. An additional goal of the Institute was to promote Croatian history, culture, literature, and heritage. The current director of the Croatian Ethnic Institute is fra Ljubo Krasić.
Ignacio Frezik Croatian that flooded Colombia and half of the world with his strawberries
For half a century, The Frezik-Rozman Family is reputed to sell the most delicious strawberries in EL FRESAL (The Strawberry Place) located at Saucio neighborhood, Choconta Municipality of Colombia. Ignacio Frezik came to Colombia in 1954 as a refugee from World War II after escaping from four concentration camps. With his wife Elizabeth Rozman (on the photo) and their children also from Croatia, he began less than zero: Bricklayer, domestic service, foreman, farmer, cook and micro-entrepreneur.
Everything is Forever by Victor Zimet docu-drama on the life of Nenad Bach World Premiere April 11th 2014
WorldFest, founded in 1961, is the third oldest film festival in North America & the Oldest Indie Film Festival in the World! This annual event has evolved into a competitive Independent International film festival showcasing rising Indie cinematic talents! WorldFest Houston is a non-profit Educational and Cultural Organization. Croatian rocker/composer Nenad Bach’s cinematic journey through war and peace and rock and roll. An unflinching examination of the universal creative process. The world premiere will be in Houston on Friday April 11th @ 9PM.
Branko Istvancic Croatian filmmaker recipient of the Liliane Stewart Award for Design Arts in Montreal Canada
Branko Ištvančić is recipient of a highly praised award at the The International Festival of Films on Art (FIFA) 2014 in Montreal, Canada, for his very beautiful and poetic documentary film “Straw-Girls.” The “straw girls” are anonymous Croatian artists of Bunjevci ethnicity who live in the province of Bačka. They found straw to be the “green” medium of choice for creating paintings, sculptures and applied art objects as an antidote to their difficult life on the vast Pannonian plain. In 2013 Mr Branko IIštvančić already won the Gold Camera Award for best documentary in Los Angeles, USA.
Heritage and History Tour of Croatia with Robert Jerin September 26 – October 9, 2014
Join noted genealogist, Robert Jerin, for this custom designed exploration of Croatia’s history and heritage. We’ll have a chance to meet with local villagers as well as professionals working in the field of genealogy while we tour this country rich in tradition and benefiting from a confluence of cultures for thousands of years. We will be visiting: Dubrovnik, Peljesac, Medjugorje, Makarska, Split, Brac Island, Plitvice Lakes, Karlovac, Zumberak, Samobor, Zagreb
Karlo J. Mirth 1917-2013 distinguished Croatian writer and lifetime president of Croatian Academy of America
Karlo Mirth was born in Otoeac in Croatian region of Lika, where also Nikola Tesla was born. He studied Forestry and Civil Engineering at the University of Zagreb. Forced to leave Croatia after 1945, he studied Journalism at the University of Rome. He later studied at the Universities of Barcelona and Madrid, and the Library Sciences at Columbia University. Karlo Mirth was a prolific writer of many articles related to Croatian culture and history. He was very active in Croatian Academy of America, and in 2013 published his autobiographical book (R)ivot u emigraciji (Life as an Emigree).
Joško Paro in Houston for the United Nations Remembrance Day 2014
His Excellency, Mr. Joško Paro, Croatian Ambassador to the United States (left) was in Texas on January 27, 2014 to make a presentation to the Houston Holocaust Museum. This was part of the United Nations Remembrance Day commemorations. There was also recognition of the Croatian “Righteous Among Nations”.