Pleternica, a town in the region of Slavonia, is about to get the world's first Bećarac square
Part of Croatian cultural heritage, bećarac is known as a form of humorous folk song that originates from Slavonia. It usually involves male singers dropping lascivious lines in front of a tipsy audience that keeps roaring from laughter at each single rhyme – it's clever, sassy, and always a bit inappropriate. In 2011, bećarac was oficially inscribed in UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list.
Now, the folk custom is about to get a proper tribute – Pleternica, a town in Požega-Slavonia County, will get its very own Bećarac square, the first of its kind in the world.
Minister of Regional Development and EU Funds Gabrijela Žalac and Pleternica Mayor Antonija Jozić laid the foundation stone at the future Bećarac square on September 1, 2017, reports Lokalni.hr. The project called 'The Cultural Route of Bećarac and Ganga' is worth 17.3 million kuna, devised by the Town of Pleternica and Tomislavgrad municipality. EU funds will cover 85% of the total investment sum.
The Bećarac square will include a tourist office and the Museum of Bećarac, along with a bećarac-themed promenade along the river of Orljava. Apart from the urban development, the project entails publishing a new monography and a cookbook featuring traditional recipes that originate from the area. The main goal is to revive the intangible heritage of bećarac and ganga – another type of traditional folk song – making them a cultural and tourist attraction of Pleternica and Tomislavgrad.
Minister Žalac stated that the international collaboration projects contribute to development of certain local areas. "The international programmes enable us to create a new dimension on the local basis, that's what makes them special. The cultural and tourist offer will get enriched by the new square, to be built thanks to this project, and that makes me very happy", she concluded.
Listen to a proper local bećarac sing-off, featuring a sassy female singer, in the video below:
