Balkan Byways's topics - tribe.net

Annual balkanian rroma summer dance workshop in Serbia

2008-06-25T13:09:44Z

I inform you that another summer intensif rroma dance workshop will take place in Belgrade, Serbia in august 2008:

***** ANNUAL SERBIAN BALKANIAN RROMA DANCE WORKSHOP *****

Belgrade, August 1st to 7th, 2008

As each year, Simona Jovic will welcome you in her country for a 20 hours rroma and balkanian dance workshop. The workshop will be teached by Simona Jovic, Dobrosav Grocic and live musicians. Join us to learn more about how to dance on the rromani and traditionnal music from Serbia, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Montenegro and Bosnia. The workshop will be teached in english, french and serbian.

* Dance programme :

Cocek rroma dance from Southern Balkans
The biggest part of this 20 hours serbian workshop will be dedicated to this gracefull and joyfull dance, danced in the rromani communities in Macedonia, Albania, Bulgaria and south of Serbia. Danced by women and men, it remains very oriental with the big turkish influences thanks to the 5 centuries ottoman occupation of that area.

Vranjanska svita (with the tamburine)
Vranjanska svita is a dance and song from Vranje in south of Serbia. It is composed of three parts : first women dance part on the beautifful song "Sano duso" (7/8 rhythme). Second, the men dance called "Tesko oro". And the third part is the women cocek rromani dance danced with the tambourine on the 9/8 very fast rhythme. It is the most oriental of all traditionnal serbian dances and one the most beautifull.

Rromani Oros
Cercle or line dances from south of the Balkans. According to the rhythme, if it's regular or irregular, if it's 7/8 or 9/8, if it's slow or fast, the step of the oro will change. In this workshop will be teached only those danced by the Rroma in their mariages and festivities.

Serbian kolo
Kolo is the synonym for oro, also a cercle or line dance, but this appelation is used in Central Serbia and it is mostly assimilated to the "two bite rhytme kolos" and not the "oriental" ones. Lively and friendly, kolo is the dance of sharing between Gadje and Rroma that will give you the liberty to have fun at any balkanian festivity.

* Prices :

* The price of 320 euros including :

- Rroma dance workshop with Simona Jovic and the rromani musicians
- Balkanian dance workshop with Dobrosav Grocic accompanied by an accordionist
(20 hours dance workshop)

* The price of 650 euros including :

- Transferts airport/hotel/airport
- Accomodation in a hotel**
(city center facing the dance school, double rooms)
- Serbian breakfast for the 6 days
- Rroma dances workshop with Simona Jovic accompanied by rromani musicians (in the second part)
- Folkloric dances workshops with Dobrosav Grocic accompanied by an accordinist

* The price of 550 euros including :

- Transfert airport/hostel/airport
- Accomodation in a hostel
(city center, 5 min from the dance school, in the 4 or 6 persons rooms)
- Rroma dances workshop with Simona Jovic accompanied by rromani musicians (in the second part)
- Folkloric dance workshop with Dobrosav Grocic accompanied by an accordionist

Bookings :

If you wish to join us for this annual serbian workshop, the booking is to made with Simona Jovic. Please, confirm first your booking by email at contact@simonajovic.com The payment should be made by bank transfert, western union or cash in two parts : first 50% while booking and the other part not later then 3 weeks before the departure.

Important :

The dates of 1st and 7th of august are the arrival and departure days. The dance workshop will take place between 2nd and 6th of august. You are requested to participate to the whole workshop, 2 hours in the morning, 3 hours in the afternoon. The rest of the time, you are free to discover the city, the museums, the restaurants, the life and the festivities of Belgrade. If you need an advice, where to listen and dance, where to eat a traditionnal meal, where discover the nice costumes or how to reach Guca (for the last three days of the brass bad festival), Simona will be happy to help you.

Simona Jovic
www.simonajovic.com

posted in Balkan Byways - 0 replies

Famous people from the Balkans

2008-05-06T05:11:10Z

Ivo Andric: Nobel prize winning author of Bridge on the Drina
Nikola Tesla: Inventor (of the Tesla coil) & electrical engeneer
Mother Teresa (b. Gonxhe Bojaxhiu): Macedonian-Albanian humanitarian
Ivan Mestrovic: Expressionist sculptor

Others?

posted in Balkan Byways - 71 replies

New KAVAL Tribe

2007-10-03T04:23:14Z

http://tribes.tribe.net/kavals

posted in Balkan Byways - 0 replies

music to travel by!

2007-09-29T19:25:53Z

My latest podcast episode is music for the road, travelling (Gatlif, Tarafs etc) ...enjoy!

http://canyella.podomatic.com

xx
Canyella

posted in Balkan Byways - 2 replies

Lead female vocalist needed for Balkan folk band, Richmond, VA ...

2007-09-03T04:04:45Z

BALKANIZE!, Richmond’s only Old World TurkoBalkan folk music ensemble, is currently looking for a lead female vocalist. Interested singers must be willing to sing in Albanian, Armenian, Bulgarian, Greek, Hungarian, Macedonian, Romanian, Romany, Serbian, Turkish, and other Balkan, Eastern European and Middle and Near Eastern languages; ability to play a musical instrument a definite plus. We rehearse at least once each week, and we perform live for belly dance and international folk dance occasions but are looking to expand our live performances to other venues soon. For more information, please email Geoff at stupidroom@verizon.net .
[S]he who is late may gnaw the bones. – Bosnian proverb

posted in Balkan Byways - 0 replies

Demiran Ćerimović again the best orchestra!

2007-08-16T14:59:08Z

This year again, like in 2002 and 2006, the Demiran Ćerimović rromani orchestra from Vranje in Serbia won the price of the best balkanian orchestra on the Guca Festival 2007. The Guca Festival is the biggest brass band festival of the world and this year it took place between the August 8 and 12.
Demiran Ćerimović orchestra is well known for playing the authentic rromani music from the Balkans, especially from South of Serbia, and he won this price by playing his "Čoček de Vranje". His percussionniste, also won the price of the best percussioniste of the Festival.

To know more about his artist, you can check on www.simonajovic.com

Rroma Organization
Ljubomira Ivkovica Suce 29
11000 Beograd, SERBIA

Le Petit Montmirail
84190 Gigondas, FRANCE
www.simonajovic.com
manager@simonajovic.com

posted in Balkan Byways - 0 replies

The Balkans on Youtube

2007-05-13T13:47:30Z

I was just on Youtube and looking up all kinds of stuff including the words "kolo", "bregovic" etc. There went my entire evening!

posted in Balkan Byways - 4 replies

Hot New Bulgarian Jams

2007-05-06T23:30:30Z

Here is a nice review of the Boston-based Bulgarian band Zdravets that was published in my local paper. As a member of the "younger generation" that the author alludes to (and a pretty recent fan of this kind of music), I was happy to see the positive, albeit lugubrious, coverage!

Hartford Advocate
Local Motion: Wascally Zdravets
A Regional Bulgarian Folk Dance Band Keeps A West Hartford Group On Their Tippy Toes
May 3, 2007
By Dan Barry

Bulgaria and Macedonia do not come to mind when one thinks of regions producing hot new jams.

Actually, you could probably lop off everything after the word “mind” and the previous sentence would still hold true. There’s this prevalent sense that if regions like the aforementioned are even producing music — traditional music — it needs to be dolled up in some sort of globalizing electronic backbeat before it can be relevant to first-worlders. If there’s no Deep Forest-esque thump to ameliorate all that ancient instrumentation, will we instantly abandon our computers for milk buckets and scythes?

Of course not, and Zdravets knows this. The band, whose many members hail from the Boston suburbs, visited West Hartford’s Always on Sunday folk dance group this past weekend. They play a dazzling number of instruments, many of which I’d never seen before: a wind instrument something like a bagpipe, a stringed instrument like a little bouzouki played with a bow, tons of flutes and whistles, a huge drum and a doumbek ... Damn! Not only were they excellent multi-instrumentalists, they’re also well-versed in the many songs from Bulgaria and Macedonia. Singer Martha Forsyth has traveled there, and she records and studies the region’s music with an ethnomusicologist’s passion.

Having never been exposed to Bulgarian/Macedonian music before, I was surprised to find how familiar I was with a lot of its characteristics. The songs are very angular, and are often in time signatures with emphatic beats like 3/4 and 7/4. The vocals are marked by call-and-response between two female pairs. When everything locks in, there’s this wonderful slippery unraveling, similar to the feeling evoked by the spitfire melodies of Irish jigs and reels.

But there were precious few young folk in attendance. Other than a few youngish fellows in the band, I was a solid two or three decades younger than the average attendee. I joined a kind of beginner’s dance called a Lesnoto, which I think translates to “impossible to fuck up.” It was fun, but I couldn’t help feeling sad that these songs and dances made it all the way to America intact, only to be ignored by entire generations. What’s not being presented is a way for young people to take traditional music with them into the first world, without having to slavishly defend it against outside influence — or over-argue for its worth. But that will never be easy here in the crucible — I mean melting pot.

posted in Balkan Byways - 0 replies

megafonija

2007-04-13T01:46:20Z

dragi balkanci diljem svijeta,

http://www.megafonija.com/

novi portal sa vijestima i raznim clancima.
drago mi je vidjeti da se web kultura polako siri i srbijom

posted in Balkan Byways - 1 reply

Croatia non-harmful tourism... can anyone help?

2007-02-25T14:24:58Z

Hello, my girlfrind and I are planning a summer trip to Croatia... We live in Spain and actually want to escape the main-stream tourism (exagerated prices for rich west europeans... that's spain's case)

We are open to your recomendations. We'd like to camp around as much as possible, spend as little as possible and go to hiden and non-(specially)-habilitated-tourist-areas, meet like-minded people, learn about the culture,... all in a period of ONE or TWO months.

We want to visit islands or simply one island (not touristic again) and enjoy our days on the beach... we love to swim naked, feel free to be nude, we are very open and simply don't want the tipical tourist spots... BUT ALL YOU FIND ON THE interNET IS RELATED TO TOURISTIC AREAS, wich is the island(s) or area you'd recomend some youngsters like us?

Any help, recomendation,... is very welcome!!!

Thank you, big kiss

Shai and Maria

posted in Balkan Byways - 2 replies

bosnia pyramid

2007-02-13T23:21:28Z

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/04/20/ap/tech/mainD8H3GGLG1.shtml

posted in Balkan Byways - 11 replies

Travel by Sea?

2007-02-09T21:05:48Z

Is there any way to get from Egypt to Slovenia by sea?

Or from Tunisia?

Thanks!
m

posted in Balkan Byways - 0 replies

Anyone here travel to Albania?

2007-02-09T09:19:46Z

Hey there -- I am part Albanian on my mother's side and have been thinking about traveling the country for quite some time now. Anyone travel there recently? Would apprecaite all your travel tips, stories, etc.. Thanks! Jamel

posted in Balkan Byways - 1 reply

New Macedonian Culture Tribe

2007-02-01T19:48:45Z

We've create a new tribe with a focus on Macedonian culture:

http://tribes.tribe.net/macedoniatribe

posted in Balkan Byways - 0 replies

Plitvica

2006-12-19T21:56:28Z

Last night I saw a documentary on Plitvica Jezera on Public Broadcasting. Oh, the longing! Makes me want to plan my next trip. One sad thing that they mentioned is that the wolves in the park have been having a hard time because during the war deer populations were decimated by soldiers hunting for food and for "sport".

posted in Balkan Byways - 4 replies

1970s-1980s Balkan Pop

2006-12-19T21:53:34Z

I have a CD with many MP3's of Yugoslav-era pop music. I was given the music by a good friend who told me there were also traditional Gypsy/Rom songs on it. For the life of me, I can not find the traditional songs on the cd. I will send a copy to anyone who will identify the traditional songs for me. I have to send the CD because the song and artist list is too long to type out.
If you know anyone who is interested, please let them know.
Thank you.

posted in Balkan Byways - 0 replies

women in the arts

2006-10-04T15:18:12Z

I am a graduate student in Slavic Linguistics and I am assisting a professor who is writing a book on women in the arts in the Balkans. She has requested that I find out about female authors, and what people are reading there now. I have access to several libraries, but I have no place to start and would appreciate any help anyone can give me on this matter.

thank you

posted in Balkan Byways - 0 replies

KULTUR SHOCK WEST COAST CD RELEASE PARTIES

2006-09-28T04:00:46Z

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SHOW DATES:

09/28 Thursday SAN FRANCISCO Bottom of the Hill
09/30 Saturday SEATTLE, WA Crocodile
10/01 Sunday BELLINGHAM, WA Nitelite

KULTUR SHOCK CD RELEASE PARTIES

Seattle's Kultur Shock will be in town to celebrate the release of their new cd "We Came Take Your Jobs Away" at SF's Bottom of the Hill on Thursday, Sept. 28. This show will kick off the official release of their new cd, entitled "We Have Come to Take Your Jobs Away". While the album officially hits the streets on October 10, copies will be available at the show.

Consisting of members from Bosnia, Bulgaria and Japan(!), they have been described by UK Metal Hammer Magazine as "the very model of a m!ulti-cultural punk rock band, just your everyday American-Japanese Spanglish Balkan Mariachi punk rock band." and SF's Bay Guardian as "the real deal."

Kultur Shock was formed in 1998 by Gino Yevdjevich, a Sarajevo refugee who emigrated to Seattle one year earlier. They released their first album "Live in Amerika" in 1999, and via SF's Jello Biafra, was introduced to Faith No More's Billy Gould, who then produced their two subsequent albums "FUCC the INS" (2001) and "Kultura Diktatura" (2004) and released them on his SF based indie label Koolarrow Records. The band has 5 European tours under their belt, and this SF appearance is one of a series of cd release parties that will be taking place in San Francisco, Seattle, and Portland.

Opening will be SF favorites La Plebe, the Mission District's hardest working, beer guzzling "barrio street punk with horns outfit". Fresh back from their Balkan tour (Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia, Serbia), they have returned home tighter than ever and with an increased tolerance for alcohol and cucumber salads.

For photos, or further press inquiries please contact: info@koolarrow.com

posted in Balkan Byways - 0 replies

Bye bye S&M

2006-07-29T18:12:27Z

So the final union of old Yugo republics is no more. Montenegro voted (by a slight margine) to go at it alone. Good luck to both Serbia & Montenegro!

posted in Balkan Byways - 7 replies

Rromani dance and music tour in Serbia

2006-07-05T09:09:39Z

Simona Jovic, the famous european romani dance teacher is organising each year two trips in two different countries in order to meet Roma people and their culture. Here are the details for the next trip in Serbia :

RROMA DANCE AND MUSIC TOUR TO SERBIA
During the brass band rroma music festival in Guca
August 26th to September 4th 2006

The programme :

* WORKSHOP OF RROMA DANCES

- Egypt (ghawazee)
- Turkey, Grece (ciftetelli, karsilama)
- Serbia, Romania, Macedonia, Bulgaria (cocek, kolo)
- Gypsy dances from Central and Eastern Europe

The workshop will take place in Belgrade,it's possible to participate to dance classes only

* STAY IN BELGRADE

Accommodation will be in core downtown of Belgrade, the City famous for its architecture,
sightseeing places and rich night life. Considering that this is the City where I finished my
University and where I spent 4 years of my life, I will take you to all those places, unknown
to regular visitors, to not too expensive restaurants and places with live Rome's and local
music.

* EXCURSIONS

- Sirogojno - village /museum in the heart of Serbia (we will spend one
night in that wonderful traditional place)

- Mecavnik - village designed by Emir Kusturica for his film-Life's miracle

- Sarganska osmica- Sargan Mountain Raliways tour

- Blagovestenje - Serbian orthodox monastery

* STAY IN GUCA DURING THE RROMA MUSIC FESTIVAL

The last couple of days we will spend in Guca, where we will get in touch with local Rome's
culture and their rich tradition, unique for this part of the Balkans. Accommodated in
private houses with the locals, we will have a chance to get familiar with their way of living,
their fooda and hospitality?

We shall arrive Friday, right for the Boban Markovic concert !

All details on her website : www.simonajovic.com

THE NEXT TRIPS (2007) :

Rajasthan (India) January 14th to 22nd 2007
Saint-Petersburg (Russia) July 10th to 27th 2007

Roma :-)

posted in Balkan Byways - 0 replies

What's On YuR East Blok RAdar for the summer ?? ( part 1 )

2006-06-27T17:34:50Z

dear eastblok friends,

What's On YuR East Blok RAdar for the summer ??

Some friends and I are on tour (music and arts+media activism)
through eastern europe in July and August . At the moment it's a loose schedule, but here's some
cool stuff below , and if you wanna share any info of festivals , events, etc. you know of
( preferably arts in action related ) that would be great !!

salut !
podp

in no particular order:

Not far from Berlin, Fusion festival
June 26-July 2
http://www.fusion-festival.com/cms/

in Pula, Croatia, Underwater Overground v.4
July 24-31
http://www.underwater-overground.com/

in Slovakia Aug.4-20, Ecotopia fest
http://www.ecotopia2006.org/

EYFA ( european youth for action )
Arts + Activism Caravan :

Athens, Greece: June 5-8
Bitola, Macedonia: June 13-17
Tirana, Albania: June 22-26
Plav, Montenegro: June 1-July 5
Belgrade, Serbia: July 11-15
Novi Sad, Serbia: July 18-22
Banja Luka, Bosnia Herzegovina: July 26-30
Kapolcs, Hungary: August 4-6
Zajezova, Slovakia (Ecotopia!): August 11 - 20

http://eyfa.org/

...

2 great groups on SF label Koolarrow.com
are on tour in the Balkans...
La Plebe is currently in Macedonia
http://www.laplebe.com/05/index2.html

and
Kultur Shock
will be returning to Pula after 10 years !
sometime in July and doing a 5 year anniversary fest in Berlin
with Lucha Amada collective/promoters
www.luchaamada.de
check their site for upcoming dates:
www.kulturshock.com

feel free to add to the list ...

posted in Balkan Byways - 2 replies

South East European Film Fesitval needs volunteers

2006-05-13T21:57:38Z

Forwarded post from LA Culture Net.
- Laurie

=============
The 3rd Annual South East Europen Film Fesitval will take place May 18-25 and we need volunteers. The festival will feature award-winning films from Greece, Kosovo, Albania, Bosnia and other very interesting countries. The films will screen at the Goethe Institute, on Wilshire across from LACMA, and the Fine Arts Theater in Beverly Hills. There will be a reception at all the screenings.You can go the website at www.seefilmla.org or see the film descriptions below. We need volunteers to take tickets, usher, serve at the receptions. Please let me know when you can help and which films you would like to see. 310-926-6939 Cheryll

Southeast European Film Festival
May 18-24, 2006
Award-winning films! Cinema of Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Kosovo/UN, Greece, FYROM/Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia …….

……telling the stories of people from this little known and much misunderstood part of the world, and how they live across religious, ethnic and cultural divides....

Tickets available:
• through our web site http://www.seefilmla.org/
• or by calling 1-800-838-3006

WHERE:
Goethe Institute – May 18-21
5750 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 100 – Wilshire Court Building -
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(between Fairfax Av. & La Brea Av.)
(Turn onto Courtyard Place, go all the way to the end)
Free parking with validation in underground garage after 6pm
Free street parking after 6pm, and Sunday all day.

Fine Arts Theatre - Wednesday, May 24 – CLOSING NIGHT
8556 Wilshire Blvd
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
(just West of La Cienega)
Free street parking after 7pm, and in the Flynt building (SE corner)

http://www.seefilmla.org

PROGRAM:
Goethe Institute, May 18-21
5750 Wilshire Blvd., Ste 100, L.A., CA 90036

See how far people can take the argument OVER A LOVE SONG on Thursday, May 18 in the Bulgarian/Pan-European co-production of "WHOSE IS THIS SONG?";

Let your heart go out to two misfits making an emotional connection in the crazy world of war profiteers and criminals in the German/Macedonian "CONTACT" , also on Thursday, at 8:30pm;

Be there Friday, May 19 for the new cinema of Albania, showing ordinary people making extraordinary choices in DEAR ENEMY at 6:30pm, and macho guys struggling to keep their girls from fleeing to the West in the
lovingly humorous TIRANA YEAR ZERO at 8:30pm;

Let Roma (Gypsy) exuberant drivers take you on an unforgettable journey on Saturday, May 20 in Serbian-made underground blockbuster PRETTY DYANA at 3:30pm;

Cross treacherous borders in Bosnian BORDERLINE LOVERS with mixed-marriage couples who defy ethnic or cultural allegiances on a daily basis – at 5:15pm;

Discover 100% SLOVENIAN women living in the U.S., outspoken and devoted to their tradition yet not speaking a word of Slovenian, on Sunday, May 21, at 3:30pm; preceded by the short, but heartbreak romance of PAPERBOAT from Greece.

Celebrate Serbian-American scientist Nikola Tesla on Sunday, May 21st with a special screening of the documentary, "TESLA: MASTER OF LIGHTNING," narrated by Stacey Keach, at 5:30pm.

Fine Arts Theatre, May 24, 7:30pm
8556 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90211

Don’t miss the closing night gala on Wednesday, May 24: we give you "BUZZ," a movie that just got out in Europe, sweeping up top prizes wherever it was shown...It's a little bit the history of émigrés, history of 20th century America, history of cultural icons (from William Faulkner to Marilyn Monroe), all told by the legendary Hollywood scriptwriter A I 'Buzz' Bezzerides. Born in 1908 to Armenian-Greek parents in what was then the Kingdom of Pont, in today’s Turkey, he fled with his parents to the U.S. where he wrote Robert Aldrich's timeless Kiss Me Deadly (1955), Jules Dassin's Thieves' Highway (1942) and Raoul Walsh's They Drive
By Night (1940). Bezzerides quickly became known as ‘the King of Noir’ - in fact, no less an authority than François Truffaut reckoned the Bezzerides-scripted Juke Girl (1942) to be America's first real film noir…

posted in Balkan Byways - 1 reply

BARRIO TO THE BALKANS: Kultur Shock/La Plebe WED. May 24!!

2006-05-03T00:21:13Z

FROM THE BARRIO TO THE BALKANS:
SEATTLE’S KULTUR SHOCK AND SAN FRANCISCO’S LA PLEBE MIX IT UP FOR A SPECTACULAR CLASH OF CULTURE AND SOUND!!

WEDNESDAY, MAY 24
SF’S BOTTOM OF THE HILL

After turning heads and blowing minds during last month's two night stint at Slim’s with Gogol Bordello, this show marks Kultur Shock triumphant return to San Francisco to play their particular brand of aggressive Balkan music at The Bottom of the Hill. Consisting of members from Bosnia, Bulgaria and Japan(!), they have been described by UK Metal Hammer Magazine as “the very model of a m!ulti-cultural punk rock band, just your everyday American-Japanese Spanglish Balkan Mariachi punk rock band.” The fact is, they’re all that, but louder.

Kultur Shock was formed in 1998 by Gino Yevdjevich, a Sarajevo refugee who emigrated to Seattle one year earlier. They released their first album "Live in Amerika" in 1999, and via SF's Jello Biafra, was introduced to Faith No More's Billy Gould, who then produced their two subsequent albums "FUCC the INS" (2001) and "Kultura Diktatura" (2004) and released them on his SF based indie label Koolarrow Records. This is their last scheduled appearance before the release of their upcoming album "We Have Come To Take Your Jobs Away", due for release September 2006.

Co-headlining this event will be local favorites "La Plebe", the Mission District's hardest working, beer guzzling "barrio street punk with horns outfit". With three cds under their belt (“Conquista 21”, “Exploited People”, and “Entre Cerveza, Ritmo y Emocion”) they have made a name for themselves as a pure-hearted punk band who’s well known for their legendary shows, relentless West Coast touring (including full 3 tours of Mexico) , and invaluable contribution to the local music community. This will be their last SF show before they embark on their 2006 "Sin Fronteras" Tour (trans: "Without Borders") of the Balkans (Serbia, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania, Albania and points in between). In fact, May 24 marks the kickoff for the tour, which officially begins the following morning.

Opening the show will be Fuga, formed in 2000 in El Paso, Texas and have since relocated to the SF Bay Area. Thier dedication to social and political issues permeates throughout their lyrics expressing a sense of hope.creating passionate uplifting music for the growing bilingual population.

IT DOESN’T GET MUCH BETTER THAN THIS…AND IT’S ALL AGES!!

posted in Balkan Byways - 0 replies

Нови сайт за кавал. / New Bulgarian Kaval Website.

2006-04-22T11:05:53Z

21. IV. 2006

Здравейте ! Нови сайт за кавал : www.bulgariankaval.com

( Hello ! A new website for the Bulgarian kaval.)

aleksandriliev.dir.bg

posted in Balkan Byways - 0 replies

oh shite, anyone have an xtra ticket for G.Bordello + KS in SF ??!

2006-04-08T16:50:56Z

oh shite, anyone have an xtra ticket ( or 2) for G.Bordello + KS ...
SUNDAY'S show at Slim's??!
busy week, and i was a little slow to write my press spiel and they may not be able to give me one now ...
please drop me a msg if u happen to have a line on an xtra ticket...
i will return the favor w/ some musika that will keep you happy for months!!
(dj) podp

posted in Balkan Byways - 1 reply

Rumen Sali Shopov Romani Musician from Bulgaria in San Francisco 3/31/06

2006-03-27T16:56:07Z

Rumen was on KPFA last monday march 20, on Kutay's Music of the World.

You can listen to the interwie and music on www.kpfa.org/1pro_bio/1b_kugay.htm

He will be also playing live this thursday on Stephen Kent world of the Music

CD release party part of International Roma Day on 3/31/06 at 60 Onondaga, SF

posted in Balkan Byways - 0 replies

Death of Milosevic

2006-03-24T16:10:06Z

Wow! I knew that he was ill, but I didn't expect this. This evening I'll be going to an International Women's Day celebration with a bunch of people from former Yugoslavia, mostly Bosnia. It will be interesting to see if there is any reaction/discussiona and what that will be.

posted in Balkan Byways - 7 replies

(bay area) balkanissimo, part 2

2006-03-12T22:21:59Z

rad!

i just saw that Kulturshock and Gogol Bordello are touring together and will do 2 shows in SF
at Slim's March 25 and 26 !

u can check the full tour schedule at KS my space site:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=15102397

if ya haven't heard the track
Horse Thief yet ... it's on their site.
be sure to plug yur computer to a giant stack of speakers and crank the volume to 11.

: )
podp

posted in Balkan Byways - 0 replies

bay area balkanissimo, part 1

2006-03-12T22:11:48Z

heya bb-tribe,

Thought this would have gotten more distributed around the tribes, but didn't see it much...

If yur in the SF Bay Area and ya get this INVITE in time ... come on out for some great musika
TONIGHT - 3.12.06 - at The Cellspace ( www.cellspace.org ) in the Mission district:

Pogonometric Revue: Toids, Tubs, Brass & Bellies
( a Cd release party for Toids )

http://www.toids.org

http://www.huzzam.com/brass.shtml

tribe listing/more details here:
http://sanfrancisco.tribe.net/event/The-Toids-with-Rachel-Brice-Mardi-Love-Elizabeth-Strong-Pogonometric-Revue
-in-SF-and-beyond-THIS-WEEKEND/san-francisco-ca/d1030e13-f7fd-4a38-b5cf-e853994c3a9c

...

re: balkanissimo??
not sure what this term triggers for natives and aficionados, given all the "balkan" terminology soup.
but first heard it from a cd from greek accordion player lazaros koulaxizis with this as it's title...
classic folk tracks ranging from mostly romania and bulgaria, if i remember correctly.

and then just discovered a curious site of balkan resources:
http://www.balkanissimo.net
with links to graffiti : ) in the region and a Dead link (%$#! !) to
filmmaker rebel Dusan Makaveyev.

salut!
podp

(art + media) organism
www.cellspace.org
radio.indymedia.org

posted in Balkan Byways - 0 replies

My Balkan Project in June.

2006-02-28T18:57:14Z

The name Balkans is quite controversial because of it negative context,
whenever I travel the US and tell people that I work out in the Balkans, the immediate response would be:

"Really, isn't it dangerous out there?"
"wow, did you have protection?"
and more comments in the similar vein.

It seems the Balkans has been the dirty step child to Western Europe and the rest of the world.

I'm going to Bulgaria this June to participate in a conference of different artists from all over Southeastern Europe including Kosovo, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Albania and Bosnia..

We will discuss the issues that Balkan Artists deal with today and hope to find some solutions as well..

My part in this is to come up with a few scenarios in how "outsiders" view the Balkans.

Any thoughts on this topic?
How do you view the Balkans? What does the word Balkans mean to you?
What do "outsiders" think of the Balkans?

I've noticed that the word Balkans really is a western concept since people I've met in the region don't associate with it.

thanks

rob

posted in Balkan Byways - 10 replies

I'm pissed off at the US media!

2006-02-28T02:03:08Z

And why? Well, remember a few years ago right before NATO started the bombardment in Serbia? Kosovo was all over the news. Front page every day. And now Rugova is dead. How did I find out (long after the fact)? By going to a Balkan news page! It didn't even get a blip in the U.S. media! I guess the Balkans are only important here when we're ready to start dropping bombs.

posted in Balkan Byways - 8 replies

"Tamo daleko" sheet music

2006-01-31T21:28:18Z

Does anybody happen to have - or know how to find - the sheet music for "Tamo daleko"? Thanks in advance!

posted in Balkan Byways - 0 replies

Music from Novi Sad..

2006-01-31T04:19:26Z

Hey Gang,

If you like a little old school alt rock..

Please visit Till's website.

www.tillband.com

I met them in Novi Sad, Serbia and they are a great bunch of guys trying to live off of their music.

Helps that they rock as well!

posted in Balkan Byways - 0 replies

Radio

2006-01-28T23:29:42Z

Anyone know of any good online radio stations from the Balkans? Occasionally I get news from Radio Multikulti out of Berlin, which has news broadcasts for large minority groups in Berlin and Germany in General:

http://www.multikulti.de/_/sprachen_jsp/activeid=58.html

Anyone know of others?

posted in Balkan Byways - 6 replies

yugoslavian music

2006-01-28T23:27:37Z

do you guys know any good music from that area?
so far I only know two artists. laibach from slovenia (one of my all time faves) and severina vukovic from croatia (not quite a favorite *g*).

posted in Balkan Byways - 12 replies

queer in beograd ...

2006-01-10T02:35:59Z

hello , i am travelling from london to beograd for a week . i m here to give a hand with a queer festival that will happen next weekend . What would be your suggestions to explore the city ? any secret places or things to do that only beogradian knows about ?
i/m also intersted in dicovering local music , from traditional to trash-pop :-D .
let me know if you want to know more about the queer beograd festival .
love to all
luca

posted in Balkan Byways - 1 reply

balkan beats - 21st century and traditional balkan sounds

2006-01-09T01:17:54Z

Greetings,

I lived in Berlin last year and visited the balkan beats club there (www.balkanbeats.de)- had a really great time. I've always been into the horn driven styles (being a trumpeter) so have been getting into goran bregovic, mahala rai banda, kocani orkestar and the clubbed out gear that's coming via shantel, electric gypsyland, shazalakazoo, rambo amadeus, prti beegee, wikluh sky and so on...

Any readers of the group have recommendations about balkan artists to check out - traditional and modern?

One of these tunes got played at the club on xmas eve (which made me happy). Check the links... One is a mash up of Goran bregovic's mesecina + the other is unidentifiable by me, so any pointers/tips welcome.

http://home.yaussie.com.au/sonical/MesecinaRemixSml.mp3
http://home.yaussie.com.au/sonical/dehtee192.mp3

cheers.

posted in Balkan Byways - 4 replies

Summer in the Balkans

2006-01-03T15:07:26Z

Has anyone been to the Balkans this summer and if yes, do you have anything to share? How are the Balkans doing?

posted in Balkan Byways - 3 replies

Darbuka workshop ~Turkish & Balkan ~ in NYC!

2006-01-02T06:02:21Z

2 weeks til the workshop date!

Seido is the real deal. This is definitely recommended!!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Seido Salifoski's Turkish & Balkan Dumbek Workshop!!

3 hours of intensive dumbek workshop, for all levels. Will cover correct tones and clean techniques, while having fun with great Balkan and Turkish rhythms!

January 14th, Saturday, 2006
from Noon to 3pm

at
Maia Meyhane
98 Avenue B (bet. 6th & 7th Street)
New York, NY 10009

tuition: $30. if registered early, $40. at the door
registration: mrdumbeki@nyc.rr.com
718.278.7714 (leave a message)

A Macedonian Roma, Seido has played dumbek in Balkan and Middle Eastern style for thirty years. He is known for his unique virtuosity in the U.S., Canada and Europe, playing with notable musicians such as Tarkan, Omar Faruk Tekbilek, and Ivo Papazov. While exploring his roots in his own group Romski Boji, he is also a member of influential Balkan-jazz quartet Paradox Trio.

posted in Balkan Byways - 0 replies

New Group for Greece online - Join

2005-12-10T12:59:33Z

http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/GreeceOnline/

New Yahoo Group about Greece ... Let's make it active ...

posted in Balkan Byways - 0 replies

hello everyone

2005-12-02T08:19:47Z

I just wanted to say hey to everyone here.
I have been on tribe forever but just discovered this one today!
I am from bosna originally, although at one point or another I lived just about all over former yugoslavia :)
I live in canada now, and I just wanted to meet some of you.
:)

posted in Balkan Byways - 6 replies

Gypsy music (Radio) online

2005-11-30T04:45:54Z

www.amalipen.net

Dear all,
i would like to recommend you an great webpage where you can listen to Romani - Gypsy music -Radio online. Hope you will enjoy it. Music is great
www.amalipen.net
Best wishes

posted in Balkan Byways - 3 replies

Gypsy Culture in Croatia and Montenegro

2005-11-01T17:28:06Z

I'm planning a trip down the Croatian coastline to Budva next spring and am now very curious about Gypsy culture in the coastal areas. I haven't been in the area since I was 13, and I have some vivid memories of the gypsies I saw way back when.

Anything you can tell me would be appreciated. Are there any enclaves of gypsy culture along the coast? Music I should hear? Greetings in their language I should know about.

I know this is a broad topic, but I'd be interested in hearing stories, reading books, learning about instruments, famous songs, etc.

Thanks!

posted in Balkan Byways - 1 reply

new here

2005-10-22T05:19:55Z

hi everyone!

just wanted to introduce myself. my name is sandro, I'm a graphic designer from switzerland and I just love croatia! I have some good friends over there in slavonski brod and split. I love the language (I really have a hard time learning it, though), the food, the landscape, the temerature, etc. too bad I've only had the chance once to go there.

check out my website if you're interested in photography and dark art (caution: has erotic content): www.pixelpunishment.com

cheers!

posted in Balkan Byways - 3 replies

Sarajevo & Vojvodina

2005-10-04T19:16:36Z

European Regions of the Year! Whoo hooo! So what does this mean?

http://www.welcomeurope.com/default.asp?id=1300&idnews=2314&genre=8

posted in Balkan Byways - 9 replies

From Trieste to Dubrovnik--Coastline Travel Suggestions

2005-10-02T02:11:29Z

Looks like I'll be visiting the family in Budva in a few months and would like to take an overland route from Trieste to Dubrovnik. Has anyone taken this route? By bus or car? I'm charting my route now and would appreciate any information you can share about traveling the coastal Croatian highway. Any good hostels? Cheap hotels? Restaurants I can't miss? High crime hot spots? Beaches?

Thanks in advance.

posted in Balkan Byways - 4 replies

Albania

2005-09-22T19:32:14Z

Hey all! I will be going to Albania for 6 weeks this summer. I will be working so will not have too much time to be a tourist, but can anyone recommend any "must sees"? I will be close to Fier and Tirana.

posted in Balkan Byways - 3 replies

visiting Croatia this September

2005-07-18T15:53:02Z

Yes, I'm going to Croatia, emphasis on the coastline.
Will be there the first couple weeks of September.

Recommendations on ground transport?

Anyone got any rave reviews on destinations/accomodations you want to send my way?

A couple of my interests, if that helps:

music (live music, traditional music, dj culture, breakbeats, electronica)
snorkeling
hiking
cooking classes
fortune telling

Any information is greatly appreciated!
Susie
aka sooozhyq (pronounced susie-q)

posted in Balkan Byways - 3 replies

A mysterious surname in my family tree

2005-07-04T21:29:06Z

There is one last name on my mum's side of the family that nobody seems to know where it came from.

The last thing is Zoda.

One person said Romanian, but everyone else who knows the Balkan region says that I don't look at all Romanian.

However that one "You know you're Romanian if..." thing described just about all the behaviors of my maternal grandmother's family!

I don't think it's from the former Yugoslavia republics.

Maybe it's a bastardized Yank verson? I can't find anything about it.

Not only that, but certian parts of that side of the family hate each other and pretty much won't speak to each other.

posted in Balkan Byways - 7 replies

Homesick

2005-07-04T18:34:26Z

OK I admit it...Today I feel homesick belive it or not( I lived a few years and visited often Ex-Yug. and Balkans in general). I miss the month of April and May in Belgrade. My friends, family,The apple and cherry trees that start to bloom, the warmer weather (I live and was born in Montreal-Canada), my then sometimes annoying "komsije", pijac, long walks by Sava or Dunav, Narordna pozorista, burek and real jogurt(the one that you can drink)... Anyone know of a cure?(except jumping on the next flight into the Balkans)...

posted in Balkan Byways - 16 replies

A Funny

2005-06-27T21:55:55Z

(as forwarded to me)

It looks like the Washington Post will be printing my letter in this Saturday’s “Free for All” section.

Here’s the undoctored letter:

Dear Post Editors,

The photo accompanying Peter Baker’s article “Memories of Soviet Repression Still Vivid in Baltics” had a rather benign caption that belied its content. I’m curious as to whether the editors who chose the picture were aware of its significance.

The picture showed two signs in a storefront window in Riga. One featured a peace symbol and the words “Imagine, George”. The other showed a strong picture of President Bush, arms upraised and outthrust over the odd phrase, “Welcome Peace Duke.” Your caption blandly observed, “Storefronts in Riga display posters of President Bush, who arrived in the Latvian capital Friday to meet with the leaders of the three Baltic states.”

Indeed. But to a Russian speaker, the message of the second poster was clear: “Peace Duke” is a cross-language verbal pun. Pronounced “Pizdyuk”, its Russian homonym has a crude reference to the female anatomy as its root and renders in English as something you’re not likely to print with your editorial letters. (For the record, its least offensive translation would be “Shitass”, and I think that particular slang dictionary was just trying to be nice.)

If you did this on purpose, well, some of us salute you. If you did not, then don’t feel bad that you got suckered; the peoples of the former Soviet Union are quite clever at getting political nose-thumbings past the guardians of the media. They had a long practice period, and to paraphrase your article, “it’s still a very, very living and present skill.”

Best regards,

And here’s a picture of Bush posing with a glorious gal who clearly knows what the t-shirt she’s holding means: http://pics.livejournal.com/vr_maniac/pic/0001aegf

Dji.

posted in Balkan Byways - 0 replies

Emir kusturica!!

2005-06-04T15:31:32Z

for those interested in Emir Kusturica, know him, love him, appreciate him, or dont, come and join the "emir kusturica" tribe and help me get it started!!!! there will be discussions regarding his future films, music, concerts, photos, ....... lots of lovely things

posted in Balkan Byways - 0 replies

food

2005-05-20T18:25:05Z

who can make the best trapachka out there

posted in Balkan Byways - 3 replies

Interesting article for those interested in linguistics

2005-05-12T23:31:16Z

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balkan_linguistic_union

posted in Balkan Byways - 0 replies

east coast?

2005-04-27T14:58:03Z

who lives on the east coast? i am in philly. we should meet up

posted in Balkan Byways - 1 reply

mostar sevdah reunion

2005-04-20T19:57:29Z

today on link tv at 6pm

posted in Balkan Byways - 4 replies

News Stories

2005-04-02T01:10:59Z

I thought I'd post a thread just for posting and commenting on recent news events from the Balkans. Feel free to post here.

This is one that I read today. It seems the weather all over is topsy-turvey. My cousin in Zagreb told me that some town in Croatia had the coldest temp in Europe for that day. It was some time last week and it was more than 20C below O. In Dalmatia they've had snow this year.

Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina
February 8 2005

Two Bosnians have died in northern Bosnia in a spell of bitterly cold weather.

Since Sunday, two men, whose bodies were found in the open, have died of hypothermia in the region of the northern town of Banja Luka.

Several schools have been forced to close early because of the cold, police said Tuesday.

The country's meteorological center forcasts that freezing temperatures, dropping as low as min 30 degrees Celsius (-22 degrees Farenheit) will last until the end of the week.

posted in Balkan Byways - 2 replies

Lots of New Photos from Bosnia-Sarajevo

2005-03-22T20:20:28Z

I jut posted lots of pic from my hometown nd homeladn

I hope you all enjoy them!

cao

posted in Balkan Byways - 5 replies

well, pictures are great, food is good, and else too

2005-03-16T17:46:22Z

is there anything else, that could connect us here?

answer appreciated

posted in Balkan Byways - 13 replies

San Francisco Tamburitza Festival 2/18-1/20/05

2005-03-13T03:35:18Z

San Francisco Tamburitza Festival
February 18, 2005 8PM $15 - Welcome Dance and Performances
February 20, 2005 1:30PM $15 - Concert and festivities.
(there will be no programs on Sat 2/19)
www.slavonicweb.org

In the past decade the Croatian American Cultural Center has annualindex.htmlly showcased the best tamburitza* music in California and presented nationally renowned tamburitza orchestras.

On President's Day weekend each February; the Center is filled with singing, dancing, and the music of the tamburitza. For two days the hall reverberates with a rich tapestry of tambura music both traditional and contemporary. The ensembles perform for listening, play dance tunes, polkas and waltzes and circle dances, and sing Becar tunes until the bar closes late at night.

This year's headliners are the Veseli Tamburitzans, from Cleveland, Ohio. Also performing are , Westwind International Dance Ensemble, Blue Adriatic Tamburitza Orchestra, Eszterlanc Hungarian Dance Ensemble, Slavonian Traveling Band, and Novi Stari Tamburasi with the Dalmacijo Singers.

Schedule for Friday:
7:30 PM Doors open
8PM Veseli Tamburitzans play for dancing.
9PM- Eszterlanc Hungarian Folk Ensemble will perform a Hungarian dance suite from Kalocsa (pronounced Kah-loh-cha)
9:30PM Veseli Tamburitzans plays second set.

Drinks only. Food will be available on Sunday only.

Schedule for Sunday:
1:30PM Doors open
2:30PM Concert
Blue Adriatics, Dalmacijo Singers and Novi Stari Tamburasi, Slavonian Traveling Band, Tommy Yeseta with St Anthony's Tamburitza Ensemble, Westwind International Dance Ensemble, Veseli Tamburitzans.

5PM Veseli Tamburitzans play for dancing in main hall and then move into the bar to play. Tommy Yeseta and Blue Adriatics will also play in bar.

Food will be available for purchase from 2PM.

Veseli Tamburitzans
For over 45 years Veseli has been one of the most popular tambura bands in the country having entertained audiences in the United States, Canada, and Croatia. Their music featuring the golden voices of Rose Husnick and Marilyn Repasky accompanied by the sparkling instrumentals of Fred Husnick, has retained the excellence in quality admired by their peers throughout the years. Veseli is comprised of 6 talented musicians and singers: Husband and wife Fred and Rose Husnick, son Mark Husnick, Rose's sister Marilyn "Cheechee" Repasky, friends Ivo Coric and Tom Salopek. They have a wide repertoire of Slavic music including all of the favorite songs and dances from the "Old Country". Listen to Dobro Dosli.

Hotel arrangements can be made at The Four Points Sheraton San Francisco Airport Hotel. Call 650-588-4683

*Tamburitza is a word with a variety of meanings. Most literally, it is the affectionate diminutive of tambura, any one of a number of long-necked fretted string instruments derived from those brought to the Balkan Peninsula by the Turks and Roma (Gypsies) - in the 16th century. [More]

posted in Balkan Byways - 5 replies

Hi,I'm new here!

2005-03-04T01:31:27Z

Hi everybody!

I'm from Serbia, but I live in Verona,Italy for five years. Is there any Serbian tribe, perhaps?

posted in Balkan Byways - 13 replies

Pics in album

2005-02-23T22:43:37Z

I just added a ton of pics to the photo album from my trip to Serbia & Croatia. I spent 3 weeks in Belgrade, Zagreb, Sombor, Nis and Novi Sad. Not long enough, but if I'd have stayed much longer I probably would have gotten fat on burek and palacinke. I think I also inhaled enough 2nd hand smoke to choke a bull elephant.

posted in Balkan Byways - 4 replies

what's the nightlife like in Sarajevo these days?

2005-01-26T00:35:03Z

I'm thinking about crusing over there in March while I'm in Europe for work and was curious about the nightlife in Sarajevo - anyone been there lately?

Thanks!

posted in Balkan Byways - 5 replies

Film: Whose is This Song

2005-01-15T23:36:16Z

George posted an to the Events for Portland for this group. I was wondering if anyone has seen this film. It sounds very interesting:

Whose is this Song?
“ In a nice little restaurant in Istanbul several friends are having dinner. A greek, a Macedonian, a Turk, a Serb and a Bulgarian. There they heard a song whose story is told in the film. As soon as they hear this song they all start singing, each in its own language. Everyone claims that the song is originally from their country. Etc…'''.

posted in Balkan Byways - 1 reply

Kusturica

2005-01-15T23:23:43Z

anybody seen kustorica's latest film? life is a miracle?

i'm of the opinion that this man is the sexiest creature on earth. he's building a city for artistic pursuits

http://www.dhennin.com/kusturica/v2/_kustendorf_en.html

some very nice photos...

http://www.dhennin.com/kusturica/v2/_derriere_la_camera_en.html

posted in Balkan Byways - 11 replies

Sretan Slava i Novu Godinu

2005-01-07T03:43:36Z

Let's celebrate Balkan Style

posted in Balkan Byways - 0 replies

Sto se tamo Kuha? What is Cooking over there?

2005-01-07T03:38:37Z

Since I am not sure that everybody speaks the lanuage may be is better to write in English, well we can mix in some Balkan Flavors.
Jasmina asked me if we can exhange receipies, she likes to cook.

I think it is a good idea.
So lets start...What is your favorite Balkan Dish even if you dont know how to cook...may be you learn?

Julia

posted in Balkan Byways - 11 replies

Haha! The First Balkan Reality Show

2005-01-03T05:05:52Z

I found this on the Balkans community on Live journal:

http://www.toasumjas.com.mk/

Have any of you actually seen this on TV?

posted in Balkan Byways - 4 replies

Kolo Festival in San Francisco

2004-11-21T22:05:27Z

If any of you are in San Francisco next weekend this is a great event to come and have FUN.
I posted under the events a more detailed information.
I will be there serving some good SARMA and BUREK!

ALSO WE WILL BE OPEN AT THE RESTAURANT AND WE WILL HAVE A GREAT FLAMENCO MUSIC AND DANCER!!!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!

posted in Balkan Byways - 0 replies

kuc, kuc (toc, toc)

2004-11-20T17:59:37Z

hello Balkan lovers,
i am new here, i am from Novi Sad and living in Italy since many years,
pozdrav svima "od Vardara pa do Triglava"

posted in Balkan Byways - 1 reply

Cold Month in the Balkans

2004-11-12T03:58:27Z

I'm going to be in Serbia (and maybe other parts of FY) in December from the 4th to the 24th. I'm traveling on the cheap. Any great ideas of winter activities in the area that won't set me back a fortune? I'm thinking of going to Sarajevo & Mostar and several places around Serbia. Maybe to Zagreb (for the 4th time). Anyone know what the best way is to travel from Belgrade to Zagreb?

posted in Balkan Byways - 5 replies

Croatian Bank Robber Laughed out of Bank

2004-10-19T21:15:04Z

ZAGREB, Croatia - A Croatian armed robber abandoned a bank hold up after the cashier laughed at his order to stick 'em up, state news agency Hina reported on Thursday.
The masked robber entered a bank at Zagreb's main square in plain daylight and threatened the clerk with his gun.
"Knowing she was behind a bulletproof glass, the clerk laughed heartily, rang her boss to say she was being robbed and asked him to call the police," Zagreb police spokeswoman Gordana Vulama told the agency.
The humiliated robber turned and fled the bank, she said.

posted in Balkan Byways - 4 replies

Big news from Romania

2004-10-13T07:43:40Z

Bears Could Delay Start of School Year

Fri Sep 3,10:29 AM ET Add Oddly Enough - Reuters to My Yahoo!

BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Some 30 brown bears have been terrorizing a Transylvanian mountain village and could delay the start of the school year, local authorities said Thursday.

Villagers are afraid to let their children go outside, with the bold bears are making off with domestic animals in broad daylight, mayor Nicolae Codreanu told state radio from Poiana Marului, 106 miles north of Bucharest.

Animal experts were seeking a solution before the start of the school year on September 15.

posted in Balkan Byways - 13 replies

Keep Informed - Balkan Links

2004-09-23T19:23:39Z

Here is a good news link for the Balkans, and it's in all of the major Balkan languages! Very cool:

http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/homepage/

posted in Balkan Byways - 1 reply

Boban Markovics Smokes Out Extra Action Marching Band in SF!!!

2004-09-21T23:26:23Z

hot damn...it was a sweaty, chaotic rumble of a show.

best scene: boban's orkestar, a gaggle of 20-something roma guys staring intently at the asses of the extra action flag girls.

i predict boban will get some flag girls of his own.

posted in Balkan Byways - 1 reply

Music Festivals in the Balkans

2004-09-16T23:16:54Z

The Exit music festival is an annual event that took place in Novi Sad earlier this month. A little late to consider for summer 04 (apparently there was some uncertainty surrounding this year's Exit due to the detention of the organizers earlier in the year), but certainly something to look forward to next year :)

http://www.exitfest.org/

Anyone else know of any other music fests in the region?

posted in Balkan Byways - 2 replies

Esma Voice of Hope Tour

2004-09-15T22:33:42Z

Just wanted to let you all know that Esma Redzepova
and Ansambl Teodosievski will be on tour beginning
September 13 (in NY). She will be in many states,
including the east coast, southwest and west coast.
Esma is the 'Queen of the Gypsies' and presents an
amazing show.

Here is a link for the entire tour itinerary
http://www.voiceofroma.com/featured/esma_tour.shtml

posted in Balkan Byways - 7 replies

Roots Music from the Balkans

2004-09-07T14:05:28Z

Being the music fan that I am, I am always looking for some very cool roots music/world music from the area. From Serbia there is a group called Teodulija. Someone gave me some recorded songs from them at one time, but I can't find any original CDs anywhere! (If anyone knows where, let me know). But their sound is great. Very contemporary but also very Serbian and traditional. And of course most of us know about the Gypsy brass bands and the Bulgarian women's choirs. Bosnia has a unique flavor of music called sevdah, kind of the Bosnian blues. Does anyone else have any recommendations/favorites either for genres or specific musicians/bands?

posted in Balkan Byways - 9 replies

Boban Markovic in San Francisco, September 20th

2004-08-31T00:35:38Z

One of the best brass bands from Serbia is playing
Monday, September 20th at Slavonic Cultural Center
60 Onondaga Av., San Francisco

http://www.bistroe.com/

posted in Balkan Byways - 4 replies

CD recommendation

2004-08-26T16:44:16Z

Last night I was listening to the CD Balkans Without Borders and I thought that I'd recommend it to this group. It's a great compilations by artists playing all types of Balkan music. And a benefit for a great organization! And nicely priced! Here is what Amazon.com says about it:

In the 1990s Balkan music became an underpinning for everything from Downtown New York jazz to a variety of postrock flavors emerging from the West Coast and the twin cities of Minnesota. Here's an expert collection of both North American and European artists playing their Balkan cards. Judging by these selections, the Balkan appeal is rooted dually in the music's speed and instrumental varieties. Charming Hostess chime in with their Angelite-like voices as drums rumble; the Klezmatics, on the other hand, build on Loren Sklamberg's tremulous voice and a spare piano melody. Then there are the more traditional nods--Muzsikas playing "Máramarosi Táncock" and Grupi Albanët feasting on an Albanian love song that yearns and jolts at once. And it's worth noting that proceeds from this packed CD will benefit the vanguard Doctors Without Borders medical organization. --Andrew Bartlett

posted in Balkan Byways - 4 replies

Romanians in Los Angeles?

2004-08-25T21:04:12Z

I lived in Romania a few years ago for 6 months and used to be quite fluent in Romanian. Looking to make a/some Romanian friends in L.A. Anyone out there? -- Cooper

posted in Balkan Byways - 0 replies

Nestalo je srpsko pleme - the Serbian tribe vanished!

2004-08-25T20:53:54Z

It just came to my attention that our member Duke has vanished from Tribe as well as his "Serbia" tribe. It's sad to see them both go.

posted in Balkan Byways - 4 replies

Odd News Story from Romania

2004-08-12T11:22:23Z

As the Romanian government hurries to improve law-enforcement sophistication in its campaign for European Union membership, villagers in the Transylvania region are resisting police crackdowns on their traditional practice of vampire killings, according to a March Knight Ridder News Service report. Vampires (unlike Hollywood conventions using crosses and garlic) are just people who go bad upon death and cause continuing grief to family members unless they are re-killed. The body is dug up; the heart is removed with a curved sickle and burned (but it will likely squeak like a mouse and try to escape unless held down); and the ashes are mixed with water and drunk. Villagers are outraged that some may face criminal charges for disturbing the dead, which carries a three-year prison sentence. [Monterey Herald-Knight Ridder, 3-24-04]

posted in Balkan Byways - 10 replies

Complimenting the photo album for this tribe

2004-08-05T17:08:10Z

Wow. Those photos are beautiful. It makes me want to go there even more.

posted in Balkan Byways - 2 replies

Editorial on Macedonia in the Arabic News

2004-08-02T20:40:20Z

Editorial: Rumbles in Macedonia
28 July 2004

TO the historian, the Balkans may be a fascinating jigsaw puzzle of peoples and cultures. Unfortunately the pieces that constitute this mosaic are each formed from political nitroglycerine, ever volatile and ever in danger of exploding with catastrophic consequences, not only for the Balkans themselves, but for the wider world.

This is why the large protest yesterday in the Macedonian capital Skopje must be viewed with concern. Despite driving rain, 20,000 demonstrators took to the streets to protest government proposals to increase the rights of the country’s Albanian ethnic minority. Macedonian nationalists in this former part of Yugoslavia believe the plans will make it easier for Albanians to join up with a future independent Kosovo, if such a state comes into being. Macedonia is a state already under considerable pressure. Three years ago the issue of the country’s Albanian minority threatened to boil over into conflict, but thanks to a timely intervention by the outside world, NATO was able to step in between the two communities and disarm rebels of the Albanian National Liberation Army. An uneasy calm was restored which is again in danger of rupture.

There can be no doubt that there are hard-liners among Macedonia’s Albanians who see unity with an independent Kosovo perhaps leading to a greater unity with Albania itself. However, such a rearrangement of the pieces of the Balkan jigsaw would almost certainly lead to devastating detonations. There are already Macedonian hard-liners who want Albanians expelled from Macedonian territory, which would itself be a no less catastrophic rearrangement of the puzzle.

Now therefore is the time for the moderates in both communities to make their voices heard. What really matters to these people, who constitute the majority, is to live their lives in safety and prosperity. Conflict will achieve only death and ruin. There are rich prizes to be won for this society on the edge of the European Union, which it wishes to join, but they will only be achieved if it can be shown that old wounds are healing and stability is real.

President Branko Crvenkovski, who succeeded the late Boris Trajkovski killed in an aircraft crash this April, has yet to demonstrate all of his predecessor’s vision and political adroitness. His government is however continuing the policy of according the Albanian community proper standing within the country. That this has caused such loud protests is not necessarily a bad thing. Indeed it actually gives an opportunity for Macedonia’s ethnic Albanians to make it abundantly clear that they are committed to their Macedonian citizenship.

The largest ethnic Albanian political party, the Democratic Union for Integration under former rebel fighter Ali Ahmeti needs to redouble its efforts to convince other Macedonians that his party really means what its name says. The extremists on both sides must be marginalized and the Albanian community as a whole must make it abundantly clear that it believes that its future lies within Macedonia.

posted in Balkan Byways - 1 reply

Sources for Balkan Stuff

2004-07-29T15:11:12Z

I'd like to know if folks here have online sources for Balkan products, especially music and perhaps videos. I know about DSSound, which seems to be a 1-man operation in Toronto. Any others?

posted in Balkan Byways - 4 replies

Bulgaria in Photos

2004-07-26T17:22:31Z

There are some really nice photos here. Check tem out.
www.bgtravel.com/travel-al...bulgaria.asp

posted in Balkan Byways - 2 replies

Reconstruction in the Balkans

2004-07-25T15:09:20Z

While browsing thru the website of a music festival in Finland, I came across the pages of a Finn-supported Balkan reconstruction project:

http://www.faces.fi/?id=113

There is also a picture gallery associated with the page

http://www.faces.fi/?id=103

posted in Balkan Byways - 0 replies

Photos from Beautiful Bulgaria

2004-07-24T18:44:21Z

There are some really nice photos here. Check tem out.
www.bgtravel.com/travel-al...bulgaria.asp

posted in Balkan Byways - 2 replies

Albania to Ukraine

2004-07-24T03:22:02Z

Hello, I am the newest member to your tribe. I'm looking to do a trip from Albania along the sea to the Ukraine. I am thinking of taking 2mo. Albania, Macedonia, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria and finally the Ukraine. Mostly I'll probably spend time in Bulgaria.. I hear it is most affordable and has excellent beaches and forests and mountains. Anyone ever attempted this journey? Anyone think it's stupid to do it alone?

posted in Balkan Byways - 18 replies

GPS Mapping with a PDA in the Balkans?

2004-07-24T02:04:51Z

Anyone use GPS mapping with a PDA to get around in the Balkans? I have been trying to find something with maps of Croatia specifically and have had no luck. Has anyone seen/got some??

posted in Balkan Byways - 9 replies

Mostar Bridge

2004-07-23T21:51:58Z

I found a website today that showed the reconstruction of the Stari Most (Old Bridge) in Mostar. For those of you who don't know, the bridge was built under the Ottoman occupation and was a beautiful sight. It was destroyed by Croat militants during the war and the city, which had been one of the most mixed cities in the country, was divided into Muslim and Croat sides (most of the small Serb population was totally driven out). Anyway, it looks wonderful. I'm posting a pic in the photos, but you can also check out the website: http://www.starimost.ba/

posted in Balkan Byways - 13 replies

Getting There

2004-07-20T22:57:36Z

I think that the #1 reason I don't spend more time in the Balkans is the air fare. Unfortunately, travel from the West Coast is the most expensive. Does anyone have any travel tips on where to get good ticket prices, the best cities to fly into, etc?

The only airport I've flown into in the region was Ljubljana.

I've also heard that there is a new airline in Bosnia called "Spirit of Balkan" (OK, they should have consulted a native English speaker). Anyone have any experience with this or other airlines in the Balkans?

posted in Balkan Byways - 10 replies