Tuesday 17 April 2012

Terra Magica

Croatia is indeed 'Terra Magica' - a magical place.

I want to introduce you to Klapa music today!

Klapa music is native to Croatia.  Usually a choir group consisting of 8-12 men, these groups sing folk songs praising local Istrian cultural phenomena. Many villages or communities have a Klapa group, and they support them with local pride.  Competitions pitting these Klapa groups against their neighbouring communities create good-humoured animosity and friendly rivalry between towns.

Klapa has always traditionally been a capella - but more modern variations are adding instrumentation.  Group members often accompany using guitar or mandolin.

If you have been following my blog, you will notice many typically Croatian images in the video.  This particular group, Klapa Motovun, hails from the Medieval village of Motovun, which I have written about previously.  In order to really get the most you can from the video, here is a brief Croatian language lesson.

Some of the typical local products are:

1.  Tartufi - truffles!  You will notice a basket of huge black truffles near the end of the video.  These are the rare delicacies found near Motovun - that basket must be worth a fortune!
2.  Vina - local wine, of course!  Vineyards dot the hillsides, and there are several grapes indiginous to the Istrian peninsula that the producers pride themselves on.
3. Kazuna - this is referring to the quaint little stone house that is so tied to Croatia's history.  I have written about these here.
4. Maslina - olives!  Silvery trees cling to the rocky soil all over Istria.  Freshly pressed olive oil of very high quality is an Istrian export the people take great pride in.
5. Boskarina - a breed of extra big, horned cattle that figure porminently in Istrian histroy and culture.  I haven't written about them yet - oops! - but I have eaten them.  Yum!

  Scenes are from Motovun, Pula, Groznjan - in short, places I have shared with you!  Enjoy a taste of Istria!

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