By Josip Bogovic
Author Fernando J. Figueredo Marichevich, born in Paraguay in April 1982, took a journey through his family history, spanning over 160 years. There is that rare individual who explores, researches one’s family history, and, in turn, gets inspired to write a novel based on the uncovered information.
“I started to write my novel in 2020. I was inspired and wanted to explore my family’s connection to Croatia. My great-grandfather Kuzma Maricevic was born on the island of Lastovo in southern Croatia, where his family had a vineyard. Of course, this is where my story started. I needed to intertwine the journey of my great-grandfather with my own. I have lived in Split, Croatia, for the past 6 years to immerse myself in the Croatian culture. By chance, my exploration connected me with Dr. Doroteja Maricevic, a famous pediatric doctor who, until a year ago, practiced in Split. With her generosity, I now live in the house of Vicko Maricevic, Kuzma’s cousin. Exploration brings you unexpected gifts. The novel also includes personal hurdles as I was assimilating into Croatian society. Dr. Doroteja taught me a lot about Croatian culture. It turns out that my great-grandfather Kuzma emigrated to Argentina when he was approximately 20 years old. Shortly after that, he emigrated with 12 fellow Croats to Paraguay because the president of the country (Carlos Antonio Lopez) was giving away land to newcomers; Kuzma got himself land by Lake Ypacarai to keep alive feelings/memories of his childhood. He became a farmer, married a local girl, Patricia, and had seven children. Lake Ypacarai is 40 kilometers from Asuncion, Paraguay’s capital. At that time, the country was one large forest,” said a young, reflective, passionate, soft-spoken author.
Fernando is doing a book tour, which started in New York and will continue to Connecticut, Toronto, Chicago, Split, and Asuncion. Organizers of the book tour in New York were made possible by Ivan Butkovic (Einstein Electric) and Srecko Mavrek; Ivan, Srecko, and Fernando met through Facebook in 2023. Ivan became interested in the book and contacted Fernando. The rest is the real-time history of a book tour. Fernando is very grateful to Ivan Srecko and numerous others who helped realize the book and its promotion. The Paraguay diaspora started with 5 thousand people early on and blossomed to approximately 30 thousand through the generations. There are several Croatian Clubs in Paraguay, and the average monthly salary of workers is about 300 dollars.
“I needed to crystalize the journey of an immigrant and his family. My great-grandfather was an immigrant from Paraguay, and I’m an immigrant from Croatia. The circle has been completed and continues with new twists and turns. My journey has been unbelievably enriching, especially through all the Croatian people I met in and out of Croatia. We are a tribe of global immigrants; that is our faith due to many factors, including the political ones,” said the pleasant, thoughtful author.
The Kuzma Vinyard is expected to be part of the Croatians Online Book Club this fall, so join us! The book can be currently purchased on Amazon.
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