Hrvojka Mihanović Salopek, PhD, of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, is the director of important cultural project Stella Maris Croatiae , the aim of which is to present the most important examples of the veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Croatia, including noted Marian shrines and an anthological selection of Marian works from the theological, artistic and musical heritage. Dr. Mihanović Salopek and her team deserve our deep gratitude for her project and for their fantastic achievement, this time concentrated on the Southern Croatian islands and on Slavonian wheat fields.
Category: Croatian spirituality
Brittain Kovac is waking up debt-free in America
Brittain Kovac’s great grandmother came from Croatia and settled in Strawberry Hill in Kansas City, KS. Her family loved the openness of the space, and the opportunity to own and care for land. Their entrepreneurial spirit was passed down to Brittain’s dad and to her as well. They also passed down the sense of responsibility that comes with any such opportunity: the need to give back. When Brittain was around 13, she went on a mission trip to the heart of Jamaica. “It literally changed my life and the direction that I had planned for my future,” she says.
Franjo Dugan playing organs in Zagreb during the first public registration of a gramophone record in Europe
The first remote public registration of a gramophone record in continental Europe was successfully organized in Croatia’s capital Zagreb, 1927. It was the third such registration in the world, after the USA, New York in 1925 and GB, London in 1926. The concert of Croatian Christmas carols with Franjo Dugan as the organist in the Zagreb Cathedral (stuffed with 2000 worshippers who were singing), had been registered for the Edison – Bell – Penkala Co. in Zagreb. We mention in passing that Penkala was a famous Croatian inventor, known among others for his “chemical pen”, named as penkala in his honor.
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.
Vuprem oci an old traditional Croatian song very popular among French vocal choirs
Vuprem oči is a very tender and poetic Croatian folk song from the region of Međimurje on the north of Croatia. Its simple melody follows a pentatonic pattern, so typical for this part of Croatia. We express our deep gratitude to Professor Krešimir Veselić, distinguished Croatian mathematician, who informed us about popularity of this song in France. We also owe our sincere gratitude to numerous French choirs and their conductors for their exceptional perfomances. Moreover, they all sing this song in Croatian! This song is a jewel of the European cultural landscape. On the photo Mrs. Pascale Scarabin from France, fantastic solo interpretor of Vuprem oči .
Tajci's landmark 1,000th Concert to be held on October 26, 2013
There are not many, if any, politicians, actors, or singers who have spent 13 years staying in people’s homes and getting to know the real American spirit closeup and personal. Interestingly, this has been the unique experience of international singer, Tajci [TYchi], her American husband Matthew Cameron, and their three sons which inspired her new album “Awaken” to be performed at her landmark 1,000th concert on October 26 in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Fr. Ante Gabric, S.J. – An Apostle of the Sundarbans, Croatian missionary in Bengal, India
Many among those who worked and lived with Fr. Ante continue to give witness to the holiness of this great missionary they knew, and some are convinced that âEUR~God visited us in the form of Fr. Ante GabricâEUR(TM). The work started by Fr. Ante and other missionaries is being continued today among the Santals, who are much more deserving and are still in the periphery, but witnessing to the faith by their lives. The Calcutta Jesuit province while thanking the Lord for giving a worthy and zealous missionary to Bengal thank also the Croatian Province and the people Croatia for their continued prayerful support for the ever growing mission today. The article was written by Fr. Irudaya Jothi SJ of the Calcutta Jesuit Province.
Concert broadcast of Nenad Bach Band and Friends in Croatia Feb 17th at 0.15 am & 6:15 pm EST on HTV2
Respected Croatian musician and world promoter or Croatian culture, Nenad Bach and Friends, entertained us all with his charity concert in Zagreb for the abandoned children of Nazor street, November 2012. They say Nenad is an artist with a Croatian soul and an American passport. The footage of the Zagreb concert will be shown on February 17th 2013 on HTV2 at 0.15 a.m. in Croatia and 6:15 p.m. EST on HTV2.
Nenad Bach Band spectacular concert in Croatia's capital Zagreb Nov 30 2012
The Nenad Bach Band appeared for the first time in Croatia, in Nenad Bach’s native city of Zagreb, in the Vatroslav Lisinski concert hall. Nenad Bach Band is composed of high class professional musicians, with a very specific, recognizable sound, interwoven with elements of Croatian folk music, enriched with Nenad’s beautiful verses. Some of greatest stars of Croatian music participated as Nenad’s special guests: Arsen Dedić, Radojka Šverko, Miroslav Škoro, Marko Tolja and Klapa Sinj. For the first time Nenad’s song entitled VUKOVAR has been performed, in which the names that will never be forgotten are mentioned: Jean Michel Nicolier, Siniša Glavašević, Vesna Bosanac, and Blago Zadro.
Nenad Bach Band in Zagreb at the Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall on Friday 30 November 2012 20pm
We are pleased to announce the forthcoming concert of Nenad Bach and the Nenad Bach Band in Croatia’s capital Zagreb, on Friday 30th November 2012, 20 pm. His special guests will be distinguished Croatian musicians Arsen Dedić, Klapa Sinj, Radojka Šverko, Miroslav Škoro, and Marko Tolja. It is for the first time that Nenad Bach has a soloist concert in his native city of Zagreb, after about thirty years of very successful career in the USA and worldwide. Through his singing and songwriting, Nenad’s goal is to spread the message of joy and universal peace.
Petar Janjic – Tromblon defendor of Vukovar and Croatia in 1991 and twenty years after
Petar Janjić nicknamed Tromblon, was an active participant of the defense of Vukovar in 1991, and survived infamous concentration camps in Serbia. He is speaking about his life and about Croatian defenders in his important and unique autobiographic book about the 1991 Vukovar tragedy, entitled “Žedni krvi gladni izdaje” (Those Thirsty of Blood and Hungry of Treason). He is openly and very courageously describing some of the current problems of contemporary Croatia.
Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markach with their families in Croatia after seven years of grave injustice in the Hague
We are pleased to send our cordial greetings to Mr. Ante Gotovina, Mr. Mladen Markač, Mr. Slobodan Praljak, Mr. Dario Kordić, and their families, in the name of the readers of the CROWN. They are all defenders of European values and true Croatian ambassadors in the EU. Croatian general Mr. Ante Gotovina contributed enormously to the dignity of Europe during the operation STORM in 1995, which according to distinguished Croatian humanist Dr. Slobodan Lang, was the first ever military action that prevented genocide.
Dr. Borislav Arapović: A Remarkable Address Given by a Croatian Minister to Those Going to War 1778
An amazing anti-war, pacifist sermon was given in 1778 by an anonymous Croatian preacher to Croatian soldiers, immediately before the battle between Austrian and Prussian troops in Bohemia. While the Croatian original is still unknown, that same year eight translations were published in German in 1778, Dutch in 1778 (in the Hague (sic!), Amsterdam, and Leeuwarden), in Swedish in 1778 and 1779, and in Latvian in 1804 and 1805. The existing documents have been published by Dr. Borislav Arapović, Croatian scholar living in Stockholm, honorary president of the Biblical Institute in the capital of Sweden, foreign member of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Passion Heritage of Croatians in The Danube Region conference held in Sombor 2012
Mrs Marija Šeremešić initiated organizing the international conference dealing with the Passion Heritage among Croatians in the Danube Region. It was held in the lovely town of Sombor, in cooperation with the local Croatian society called Urbani Šokci directed by Mrs Šeremešić, and by the Agency for Culture of Vojvodina Croatians from Subotica, directed by Mr Tomislav Žigmanov. The conference was superbly organized and very successful.
LADO prestigious Croatian national folklore ensemble visited Japan in 2006
LADO is one of the most famous folklore national ensembles in the world, founded in 1949. The following impression illustrates reactions of the public on the concerts of LADO in Japan in 2006: “… If I were born again, I would like to be born a Croat, so I could dance these beautiful dances with LADO” On the photo Mrs. Ivana Laušić, director of the LADO ensemble, and His excellency Mr. Tetsuhisa Shirakawa, Ambassador of Japan in Croatia.
To the Security Council of The United Nations regarding the Croatians of Bosnia-Herzegovina
Croatian general Slobodan Praljak, exceptionally educated person, has diplomas of three faculties: Faculty of Arts, Electrical Engineering and Film Academy, all from the University of Zagreb. He elaborates about: The training and equipping of entire BH Army units in Croatia; The taking up of hundreds of thousands of Muslim refugees in Croatia; The organisation of ex-territorial education and schooling for Muslim refugees in the Republic of Croatia; About low blows of Carla del Ponte and a Canadian general plus many other issues.
Life of Croatian peasants near Zagreb described in a silent film from 1920s
The film was shot probably in 1920s in the village of Mraclin south of Zagreb, the region of Turopolje, near the town of Velika Gorica. It describes the daily life of a family community in Turopolje (Turopoljska zadruga) during one ordinary day, starting from early in the morning. Especially interesting is to see making the sign of the Cross on the bread before lunch, and the sign of the Cross on small children when they go to bed. We illustrate the old customs by a nice collection of photos from Radio Velika Gorica, Croatia.
The Society to Preserve the Millvale Murals of Croatian painter Maxo Vanka
 Maxo Vanka’s murals for Millvale’s Croatian Church of St. Nicholas are a unique contribution to the American mural movement of the 1930s and 1940s. The Society to Preserve the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka is a nonprofit public supported historic art preservation organization. Vanka’s work touches upon common themes of his era, including family, labor, and war, but with a focus upon the disenfranchised and the dispossessed.
The Righteous Road of Stepinac – film by Jakov Sedlar produced by FILMIND Tel Aviv
Important testimonies of Amiel Schromony (1917-2009), Dan Baran and others about blessed cardinal Alojzije Stepinac (1898-1960) in a film by Jakov Sedlar. Text written by Rev. Živko Kustić, narrated by Rick Alerson, produced by Ron Assouline, Jakov Sedlar and Igor Prizmić, executive producers Dominik Sedlar and Stephen Ollendorf. Digital postproduction by FILMIND – Tel Aviv, 2009. Available on YouTube since February 2012.
Katarina Livljanic presenting Judith by Marko Marulic a famous Croatian Renaissance writer from 15-16th ct.
Ms. Katarina Livljanic enacted the ancient drama with splendidly pure singing in Croatian, urgent narration, a penetrating gaze and expressive hands. (…) What makes “Judith” seem almost startlingly modern and metaphysical at times is Ms. Livljanic’s incorporation of other 16th-century texts dealing with inner dialogues at climactic moments in the story. The New York Times, USA. Marko Marulić 1450-1525 was Croatian Renaissance writer, one of the most important European spiritual writers of his time. He wrote the Biblical epic in Croatian, and stated expressly on the title of the book that the book was written in Croatian verses – u versih harvatski .