| Trumpeters from Serbia compete for the titles of the best orchestras and soloists in three categories: pioneer, youth and senior. Through the qualifying rounds in areas of eastern, western, southern and central Serbia and Vojvodina pass hundreds of bands, and about forty of them have the possibility to participate on final competition of brass bands in Guča. Winning some of the titles of Dragačevo’s brass bands festival opens them the way for performances in world capitals, the national and international festivals, music programs, television, film ...
During the period of five decades on the Festival, together with festival competitors, began to arrive guests: orchestras, cultural societies, singing groups, soloists, painters ... from various parts of Serbia, former Yugoslavia, and since the mid-eighties also from around the world. The number of participants in all Festival programs ranges over 1200, while the number of Festival visitors is hundreds of thousands - including tens of thousands of foreigners.
In its content, in addition to trumpet competition, Festival is the overall review of national spirituality: art exhibitions are organized, also literary meetings, competition of toast-proposers, all-round national sport tournament, competition for the most beautiful national costumes, performances of folk customs (Dragačevo’s wedding from the 19th century), many brass bands concerts , concerts of singers, dancers ...
Festival is followed by numerous print and electronic media from country and abroad, books and publications about this event are written, films are recorded, there are also television and audio recordings ...
The organizer of Brass band festival in Guča is a municipality of Lučani, which the immediate organization of cultural programs entrusted to the Centre for Culture, Sport and Tourism "Dragačevo" in Guča. Related activities are implemented by municipal governments and local community of Guča. Patron of the Festival is the Government of the Republic of Serbia.
All roads lead to Guca. Welcome!
HISTORY OF TRUMPET FESTIVAL
Trumpets arrived to Dragačevo as a veteran musical instrument used in military barracks and battles for the freedom at the end of the XIX and at the beginning of the XX century. Military trumpeters brought them home more like a memory of days spent in the army and on the war fields. The witnesses of these days are numerous tombstones and roadside monuments. The oldest among them is one dedicated to Uroš Rakićević from Guberevci who participated in the Serbian-Turkish war from 1876 to 1878 as a military trumpeter, also one dedicated to Čedomir Nedović from Rtari, to Sreten Jerenić from Goračići, to Petar Davidović from Lisice and other trumpeters from the First World War.
Trumpeters noticed that people loved to listen the sounds of the trumpets and they started to play kolo dances and songs. At first they played with the existing band, and then they joined and started to make orchestras. Four trumpets and a drum. Five trumpets and a drum. Six trumpets and a drum. Bands were small but they did the job . Trumpet music replaced other kinds of traditional music succesfully. The trumpets were no longer used as a wakening call or to sign time for taps, they didn’t play military marches and gave the sign for the assalt , they started to be a part of celebrations. In that way the military trumpets became more calm, more tame, they entered into the heart and soul of people. Without them songs couldn’t be imagined. People of Dragačevo got to like them so that they did not announce without them a birth or a baptism, or some works in the field, departures or arrivals from the Army, weddings, lifting roofs on new houses, or other significant moments - even funerals.
Rural fairs could not be imagined without trumpeters. People of Dragacevo were born with the sound of the trumpet, they have lived and died with that sound. Between two world wars in the several villages near Guca, there were about fifteen orchestras.
Among them the best band was one from the village of Mirosaljci. Its leader was the famous Dojčilo Djukić, the best trumpeter of the time. His fame was heard up to Niš. The leaders of the kolo dance waited in lines for him to start playing on the fairs, and in the autumn the wedding were scheduled according to his schedule. The organization of Dragacevo Brass Band Festival was a result of the idea of young educated people of the time, dreamers, willing to break the monotony of life of a small place, far and deep into the country. Their spiritual and cultural needs were far above from the life they had which included temporary social-political actions and activities. Those young people were lucky because they came to an idea to organize such a unique event as the Trumpet Festival is, and Trumpet festival was lucky because it gathered so valuable and creative people- who were fond of folklore and tradition.
Both these facts contributed to the fact that the Festival successfully cultivates the spirit of national wealth for 50 years. The first Trumpet Festival was held on 14th October 1961 in Guca. It was held on the day of the Shroud of the Holy Mother in the churchyard during the last traditional festival that took place here.
Young boys and girls thought that this festival gave them a chance for the last meeting. The organizers of the Trumpet Festival believed that, this way, they would have audience for their programme as well. The day was sunny and warm. The interest of the people exceeded all expectations of organizers.
Then it broke the first Festival cannon, it was thrown the first stone by the competitiors of the all-round sport national tournament, the first jumper in that competition jumped, cracked heroic bone of one of the wrestler, it was hit the first Festival apple "through the targeted ring, it was taken out, for the first time after the war from dusty chest and crates, old folk costume was displayed again.
The colourful “kolo”dance, composed of both the young and old, was danced again at the Festival. There were showed again dancing skills and the beauty of costumes, the best were rewarded. In that occasion were opened several exhibitions of products of Dragacevo and handicraft products made by traditional craftsmen and artists, among these were products of loom weavers from Dragacevo as well.
Several tents was erected under which was spreading a delicious fragrance of Dragacevo specialties of Dragacevo like sour cabbage dish, boiled beans, barbecued meat, hot brandy (“vruća rakija”) and hot corn bread with cheese and “kajmak” (a dairy product of Serbia).
HOW TO ARRIVE TO GUČA?
You can come to Guča in different ways:
If you go by car, from Belgrade to Čačak you go by Ibar primary road through Gornji Milanovac.
On the road that by-passes Čačak there is a direction on the right to Guca. From Čačak to Guča there are 22 km.
If you have decided to take a bus to Guča, from the main railway station in Belgrade there are departures to Čačak every hour and from Čačak there are buses and taxis to Guča.
- BUS STATION BELGRADE: +381 11 2636 299
- BUS STATION ČAČAK: +381 32 222 461
If you have decided to travel by train, the nearest railway station is in the town of Požega. From Požega you can go to Guča by bus.
- RAILWAY STATION : +381 11 360 2899
- RAILWAY STATION POŽEGA: +381 31 816 267
- BUS STATION POŽEGA: +381 31 713 046.
See more : Official web site GUČA
See more : Photo Gallery GUCA 2010 |
