Hartmanice - Svojanov 2003

The Bartošes from Čierny Balog

Ida Kelarová called them the “highlight” of the festival. Group of authentic gypsy folklore from Slovakia: the Bartošes of Medvěďov. Július – Šuko – Bartoš is the spirit of the band in which he takes part together with his sons.

Július Šuko Bartoš has been playing in the children’s folklore group Kíčer in Čierny Balog since the age of fifteen. Next year, he will celebrate his seventieth birthday. As he told us, his gypsy band is reknown in at least ten countries of the world.

We met people of various nationalities but home is home,

says Mr. Bartoš. Like every year, they made their appearance at the Detva feast this year with a great success. For as Mr. Bartoš claims himself, there would be no Detva feast without them. In Medveďov, where the Bartošes live, they are respected by the non-gypsies who won’t hear a word against them. They like them very much.

We live among the non-gypsies so we’re not isolated and we feel fine there,

he speaks highly of their situation. And who was it that bought the first violin to Mr. Bartoš?

When I was at the first grade, I had a teacher, Mr. Smerečan, who was from Hronec and used to play the violin. I grew on it. Once, during a break when the teacher went out, I furtively took the violin and I held them in my hands mocking the movements with the bow although I didn’t know how to do it. The teacher returned to the classroom and when he saw how the little boy uses the bow on the big violin, he decided to teach me playing the violin,

remembers the nowadays famous first violinist. So the teacher Smerečan not only taught little Bartoš how to play the violin but he also gave him one as a present. He still remembers telling him that he would become a great musician with a worldwide recognition. The teacher was right, the Bartošes are famous everywhere and no folklore festival can do without them.

And how did the Bartošes like the festival in Svojanov?

We saw a plenty of gypsy musicians but we liked the most the Horvaths from Brno. But the others were good as well. It is very nice here, even the atmosphere, and we are happy that we, the Gypsies, are able to organize something like this and that our music doesn’t separate people but unite them.