„LERON” MEĐUNARODNI FESTIVAL FOLKLORA U VODNJANU U KONTEKSTU MULTIKULTURALNOSTI
"LERON" INTERNATIONAL FOLKLORE FESTIVAL IN VODNJAN IN THE CONTEXT OF MULTICULTURALITY

Summary/Abstract: Vodnjan is a city on the Istrian peninsula. According to the 2021 census, it has 5,838 inhabitants, of which 59.7% are Croats, 15% Italians, 5.5% Bosniaks, and Albanians, Montenegrins, Roma, Serbs and other of the twenty two recognized national minorities in Croatia. The community of Italians in the town of Vodnjan (Comunità degli Italiani di Dignano) pays great attention to the cultivation of customs, historical heritage and cultural heritage, the love it has for traditional national costumes, music and songs, and also cultivates the coexistence, that is, the culture and traditions of all the ethnic groups that live in the town and in surroundings. The twenty first International Folklore Festival "Leron" took place from August 24 to 26, 2023. Through it, the City of Vodnjan and the Italian Community of Vodnjan promote multiculturalism, "the message of peace, friendship and brotherhood". The festival lasts from two to three days in August. It takes place in the Vodnjan square, where the folklore customs of various peoples are interwoven. On the streets of Vodnjan, a parade of colourful costumes, sounds of instruments, songs and dances takes place. The festival gathers folklore groups from various countries that present their folk dances and costumes. Thus, in addition to the Croatians, folklore groups from eighteen countries performed. For a few days, Vodnjan becomes a centre of multiculturalism where national diversity is presented and its own culture and traditions are nurtured. Within the framework of the festival, round tables are organized in which ethnological and ethnomusicological experts are involved. The end of the event itself is marked by the awarding of prizes. The organizers of the festival are the Italian Community of Vodnjan and the Italian Union in cooperation with the National University of Trieste, and the festival itself got its name from the traditional Vodnjan musical instrument leron, a stringed instrument similar to a cello with two strings. The archive of the Italian Community in Vodnjan was used to write this article. Folkloric groups are presented by country with the indicated year of performance. As a case study, the repertoire of Istrian folklore groups (sung, played or danced performances) performed in 2023 is analyzed in more detail. The aim of this work is to list the folklore groups that performed at "Leron" during the twenty one years of the festival's existence in order to preserve the archive of folklore heritage in the Istrian area. When people write about folk music in Istria, the Croatian tradition is mostly described. Therefore, this paper emphasizes the folklore tradition of Italians and Montenegrins in Istria to confirm the multiculturalism hypothesis at the Vodnjan folklore festival.

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