4th Meeting of Klapa Groups of Croats Outside the Republic of Croatia in Split

The Croatian Heritage Foundation (Hrvatska matica iseljenika) and the City of Split are organizing the 4th Meeting of Klapa Groups of Croats Outside the Republic of Croatia on September 28, 2026.

The event will take place at the Croatian National Theatre in Split. Six klapa groups of Croats living outside Croatia will perform at this year's meeting. They will be joined by special guests—two klapa groups from Croatia and one from Bosnia and Herzegovina—creating a unique evening that brings together the Croatian diaspora and homeland klapa scenes.

The participating klapa groups come from various parts of the world, from Argentina to Austrian Burgenland, Germany, neighboring Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. Through their activities in the communities where they live and create, they use musical expression to preserve and promote the identity, language, culture, and traditional heritage of the Croatian people.

The following klapa groups will perform on the stage of the Split HNK:

• Bellezza from Montenegro

• Croatia from Germany

• Grga from Bosnia and Herzegovina

• Dičaki from Austria/Hungary

• HKPD Jelačić from Serbia

• Valovi from Argentina

Three guest klapa groups from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina will join them to enrich the program: Krunik from Kučine, Maestral from Split, and Klapa Bratovština sv. Stjepana from Gorica, BiH.

The organizer emphasizes that the Meeting of Klapa Groups of Croats Outside the Republic of Croatia is one of the benchmark programs of the Croatian Heritage Foundation. It is designed to connect Croatian communities around the world with the homeland and to preserve and promote Croatian cultural and national identity through klapa singing.

Klapa singing is an ethnomusicological phenomenon that originated in the region of Dalmatia in the 19th century. Today, it is increasingly followed outside Croatia's borders, in Croatian diaspora communities where members inherit this form of folk art from the homeland of their ancestors. It is not only a recognizable musical expression but also an important part of Croatian cultural identity that has been preserved, nurtured, and passed down through generations far beyond Croatia's borders.

The symbiosis of old and new, mature and young, is visible not only in the repertoire choices of klapa groups outside Croatia but also in the rise of younger klapa groups. These young groups are the best proof that the future of this intangible cultural phenomenon is secure among our diaspora and Croatian minorities.

The event is held under the auspices of the Government of the Republic of Croatia, co-organized with the City of Split, and in partnership with the Split-Dalmatia County, the Croatian National Theatre in Split, and the Association of Cultural and Artistic Societies of the Split-Dalmatia County.

Source: Voice of Croatia

Translated by: Branko Lozančić