Matthew McGrath brings new life stories from the American diaspora: Mario from Astoria has lived in the U.S. for 56 years, and Joe Mišir has been playing the tambura for over six decades despite not speaking Croatian.
Matthew McGrath, a Croatian American who regularly documents the fates of emigrants, has once again shared stories of people who left Croatia for the United States. Through their experiences, one can trace the arrival in the "promised land," but also the persistent preservation of Croatian culture and customs, even among those who have forgotten the language.
Two years ago, while walking through Astoria, a neighborhood in New York, McGrath happened upon a gentleman named Mario. He saw him working in the yard and decided to greet him with "Dobar dan," hoping the man would understand. It turned out he was right.
Mario comes from a small village near Labin in Istria and has lived in America for 56 years. He left during the communist era, seeking a free country. Yet despite all the decades spent abroad, he returns to Croatia for a few months every year.
Astoria has become home to many Croatian emigrants. In Mario's block, located between Broadway and 34th Street, as many as 27 Croatian families live. They are mostly Istrians who gradually bought houses next to each other, with a few Dalmatians among them.
Joe Mišir is now 71 years old and has been playing the tambura for over six decades. His grandfather arrived in America when he was only seven, and the family traces its roots to Ladislav near Bjelovar. Although he does not speak Croatian, Joe has sung and played Croatian songs since childhood, absorbing them from his father.
It was his father who passed on the love of music to him. When Joe was 10, his father read in the newspaper that the Croatian Club in Monessen, Pennsylvania, was accepting beginners and briefly told him: "You're going." From that moment on, Joe never stopped playing.
Joe attributes his lifelong dedication to the tambura and the preservation of tradition solely to his father.
