A Chilean lawyer with roots from Lika wants to live in Zagreb

Dragica Abeleida Vukelić, a Chilean lawyer of Croatian descent, plans to settle and work in Zagreb with her husband, where her mother currently lives. Her Croatian grandfather made a special effort to preserve Croatian culture by teaching his family the Croatian language and how to prepare traditional Croatian dishes.

"I am the granddaughter of Joso Vukelić, originally from the beautiful village of Donji Kosinj in Lika. After surviving the tragic experiences of World War II, my grandfather arrived in Chile in 1949. He and his brother Milan joined the army as teenagers, at the ages of 17 and 18. It was a very sad experience because he lost his brother, an uncle, and a cousin, which left a deep mark of sadness on the family. After the war, my grandfather was imprisoned in two camps, where he spent four years. One of them was the Esterwegen concentration camp in Germany. Later, he was transferred to Italy, from where he emigrated to Chile.

My grandfather Joso married a Chilean woman named Yolanda and started a large family. Among his children is my mother, Dragica Vukelić. It was very important to him to maintain connections with his family in Croatia (his mother, sisters, and nephews) and he wrote to them constantly, even though letters took about 30 days to reach their destination. In this way, he created an unbreakable bond between them and his children.

At home, he dedicated himself daily to preserving Croatian culture by teaching them to speak his language and cooking typical dishes, such as the famous sarma or excellent spit-roasted lamb Lika-style, which he would turn for hours until it got the delicious, characteristic golden color. He used that time to sing typical Croatian songs of that era, accompanied by the guitar, since while living in Croatia, he played the eight-string tamburica in a group of five young musicians from his village," says Dragica Abeleida.

Her grandfather died very young, while she was still quite small.

"But my mother continued with the same dedication as my grandfather, nurturing our culture with her children and grandchildren. Thus, we all have Croatian citizenship—not only the children and grandchildren, but also his great-grandchildren.

Mom taught us old songs she learned from my grandfather, like 'Ćiribiribela mare moja', 'Marijane, Marijane', and others. She also brought us many cassettes, CDs, and records of modern Croatian music from Croatia, which we translated and learned one by one, including songs by Tomislav Ivčić, Mišo Kovač, Kićo Slabinac, the group Latino, and many others.

My brother Franjo attended a Croaticum course when he was 19. Then he returned to Croatia to complete the remaining levels. In his home in Santiago, Chile, he speaks only Croatian with my 5-year-old nephew Ilija. My oldest son Patricio, who is currently studying medicine, had the opportunity to attend a Croaticum course in Zagreb after finishing high school in Chile, thanks to a scholarship for descendants of Croatians living outside of Croatia. My second son, Ivo Juraj, has already been in Zagreb for two years and is currently in the third level of Croaticum," points out the Chilean woman of Croatian descent.

Dragica Abeleida's mother has been living in Zagreb for ten years.

"There she has the opportunity to immerse herself in the reality of Croatian culture, instead of just observing it from a tourist perspective. She can attend cultural and culinary events organized in various cities across the country, as well as other festivities that help new generations preserve Croatian customs and culture.

In addition, my mother is an active member of the Croatian-Hispanic Society. She has also presented her book, which she wrote and translated into Croatian, 'Falcons in my Soul' (Sokolovi u mojoj duši)—which brings the life story of my grandfather Joso, covering the period of his life in Croatia and later in Chile. I am referring to presentations in which I, of course, participated and where I was able to give interviews in the Croatian language. However, I must note that, although I understand the language and can speak it, grammar gives me certain difficulties when I have to express myself.

My husband and I still plan to settle in Zagreb and work from there, given that our business operates online. I think that would be the best way to improve my language skills, because I believe languages need to be lived.

From Chile, I send warm greetings to my beloved Croatia, geographically distant, yet so close to my heart," concludes Dragica Abeleida Vukelić.