KUDs from Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina who bear the name of Matija Gubac gathered at the traditional 20th Gubac meeting, this year in Ilača. In addition to the hosts, the 20th Gupča meetings were attended by KUDs from Sotin, Slavonski Kobaš, Donji Miholjec, Gornja Stubica, Karlovac, Tavankut and Ruma.
In honor of this meeting, a Gupča linden clone was planted in front of the Ilača-Banovci Elementary School as a symbol of friendship that has lasted for twenty years. Members of the HKPD Matija Gubec from Tavankut were also in Ilača, overjoyed that this beautiful tradition continues for more than 20 years.
"We started these meetings way back in 2003, and we are proud that we managed to survive by preserving the Croatian tradition and the memory of the Stubic hero and leader of the Peasants' Revolt, Matija Gubac.", Ivica Dulić from HKPD Tavankut tells us.
After the planting of the Gupča lime tree, a round table of representatives of the societies was held, where the guidelines for the meeting were determined. Thus, it has already been agreed that the company that will host the meetings in 2025 will be KUD "Matija Gubec" Slavonski Kobaš. All these years, societies with the name of Matije Gubac, inheriting the Croatian tradition, strengthened friendships that will last for a long time.
"The gathering of societies bearing the name of Matija Gubac is also a kind of rarity, because we know cultural societies bearing the same name, but they have never gathered before, especially when they come from three different countries. We believe that this tradition of ours will be passed on to the younger generations, because the memory of Matija Gubac must not disappear". says Dulic.
The performances of eight KUDs in the Hrvatsko dom were rewarded by the audience with loud applause, confirming in this way that Gupča's meetings are indeed a beautiful event.
Government representatives in the Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia, the Vukovar-Srijem County and the Municipality of Tovarnik also showed that they value Gubčev's meetings, because without their support the meeting would not have taken place.
People's tribune, fighter for the rights of the weak, Matija Gubec died a martyr's death, but that's why several centuries after the Peasants' Revolt, the memory of the Stubic hero lives on through the work of these societies.
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