How did Ethno Croatia begin 20 years ago?

At the 2004 Annual General Assembly of Jeunesses Musicales International, held at the International Cultural Center of Jeunesses Musicales Croatia in Grožnjan, the former Swedish Association Rikskonserter — one of the organizing associations of Ethno Sweden — suggested that Ethno also take place in Croatia. Rikskonserter proposed that Croatia start its own Ethno, and Dario Marušić, the first organizer of Ethno Croatia and a renowned ethnomusicologist from Istria, became the first participant from Croatia to attend Ethno Sweden. This marked the beginning of the exchange program between Sweden and Croatia. Following his visit and Rikskonserter’s suggestion, Jeunesses Musicales Croatia decided to launch Ethno Croatia, with the first edition taking place in 2006.

How has Ethno Croatia grown or changed since its first edition?

Every edition brings change and growth compared to the previous one — people change, organizers, artistic mentors, participants, and volunteers all evolve. Concert venues have shifted over the years, and the Ethno on the Road Tour happens annually with different locations each time. All these changes, in my opinion, are positive. The more people experience the program, the more they learn about it, and the more open they become to its values and music.

What are some of the most memorable moments you’ve witnessed during the past editions?

Well, I have been organising Ethno Croatia for four years now, so I cannot really pinpoint what is memorable and what isn’t to me. Ethno as a whole is the memorable thing, the memorable moment, like the whole process is memorable. I think what is extremely memorable about Ethno Croatia is the place where it happens, Grožnjan, and the International Cultural Centre of JM Croatia, which has been standing there since 1969. So I think the location is memorable, I think the story of how it came about is memorable, and I think the people that make the program happen every year are memorable. I think this is what makes up all of the moments that you are asking about. I think Ethno Croatia as a whole is memorable.

What does the 20th anniversary mean to you?

To me personally, it means 20 years have passed, and at least 20 more will happen. I am trying to be realistic — I’m not trying to sugarcoat it or think of it like a romantic thing. The fact that 20 years have happened, I think, is natural for this program. It should be like this: the 20 years that have happened have happened for a reason, and the 20 more that will happen will also happen for a reason. The preservation of tradition, of traditional music, of culture, or however you want to call it — that’s the essence of this program. The preservation of tradition and culture is timeless, and therefore I think this program is timeless.

So basically, to me, 20 years means 20 years of successful preservation of traditional music and intangible cultural heritage. It means that throughout these 20 years, hundreds of people have successfully preserved their own and somebody else’s intangible heritage — which is a great feat and a huge honour to be able to do.

What are your hopes for Ethno Croatia in the next few years?

There are two things that I think need to change in order for Ethno Croatia to continue to be a sustainable program. There has been a lack of two things since I have been organising: the main issue is the lack of national funding, which I think is quite sad. I think it tells you a lot about how culture is being treated in Croatia. Unfortunately, the projects that do not tend to tradition and intangible heritage in the right way are the ones that get financial support, and I do hope that this changes in the next years. There are young people coming into the scene who are kind of opening up on the viewpoints of some people, and I count myself into this group of young people. We are trying to show the older generations how to properly treat traditional music, because unfortunately the folklore groups and similar projects that usually get national funding are the complete opposite of the right way of preserving this tradition. But again, my hope goes out to this new wave of young people who understand how to properly treat tradition, and hopefully they will also be the ones who will decide who gets this national funding, because it is very apparent that the national funding that is being given out now is being given out by people who also do not know how to treat tradition, so how would they know to distinguish a good project from a “bad” project? That’s my main wish for the future — that somebody opens their eyes and opens the eyes of other people.

The second thing that is quite important for the preservation of Ethno Croatia is local participants, which we have had a deficit of in the last few years as well. But I do think that if the first problem solves itself, then the second one will follow. Young people in Croatia cannot really afford the participation fee of Ethno music gatherings, and it is not a lot of money. The majority of young people who would be interested cannot afford it whatsoever, because the economy of Croatia is extremely bad and students are forced to start working as soon as possible to at least cover their minimum living expenses. Participation fees of 300–400+ Euros is not really something anybody in Croatia at that age can afford right now. So yes, if this first problem of national funding is solved, then most probably the second problem of deficit of local participants will also change, because there will also be support for locals to attend the program. These are the two main issues that we are kind of facing, and I think a lot of organisers in the region and in the Balkans can attest to it — it’s a similar situation here. So this is my main wish for the future, because I do see a big shift in the project and the program if that happens.

How did the 20th edition of Ethno Croatia go?

The 20th edition featured 18 musicians from 11 different countries. The Ethno on the Road tour consisted of two concerts. The first concert was at the Jazz is Back! – BP Festival, which is held every year in Grožnjan and organised by Jeunesses Musicales Croatia. The concert was also live streamed — if you would like to check it out, you can search for the municipality Grožnjan YouTube channel and you will find the live stream there. The second concert was held at the Medulin Riviera.

Both concerts were held in collaboration with the TradInEtno Orchestra, which also joined for a guest workshop — a new initiative we started last year with the TradInEtno association from Pazin. We are extremely happy to have this collaboration because participants of Ethno Croatia can learn traditional music from Istra firsthand from bearers of the tradition, and they also get to meet some local musicians.

The 20th edition featured two amazing artistic mentors: Ernesto Calderón Dondero from Chile and myself, Lucija Maroević. The edition also featured the “reincarnation” of the song Cariñito, a famous song that appears at almost every Ethno gathering. We redid it because its origin traces back to Ethno Croatia 11 years ago, making it a special anniversary celebration.

I think the 20th edition also showed why it has stood for 20 years and why it will continue to stand for at least 20 more. The participants were amazing, the team was amazing, and overall it was just a great week filled with music and truly special people.