Rhythms of the “Hutsul Paris”

For their capital city the festival organizers chose Rakhiv, a small town in Transcarpathia, where Ukrainian, gypsy, Romanian, and Hungarian cultures harmoniously intersect and mutually enrich each other. Rakhiv is an example of interethnic tolerance and cultural pluralism. But this is not the main feature of this Transcarpathian regional center, since every town in this region boasts a multiethnic population and diversity of traditions and customs.

Without realizing it, the founding fathers of Rakhiv built this town 500 years ago in the very geographical center of Europe. The residents of Rakhiv lived tranquil lives until 1887, when Kaiser Franz Jozef of Austro-Hungary ordered a memorial sign erected 10 kilometers from Rakhiv — a pillar engraved with the Latin legend: “This is a constant, precise, and eternal place...”

Not all geographers agree with this designation. There are three known geographical centers of Europe, two of which are outside Ukraine. However, the sign near Rakhiv was the first, and it is the only correct one so far as Ukrainians are concerned. Soviet scientists confirmed the measurements taken by their Austrian predecessors, and a metal stele was installed beside the pillar. Rakhiv raion has attracted tourist interest, and the “Europe place” (as gypsy taxi drivers call the memorial sign) is never deserted. A businessman has even opened a museum modeled on a kolyba, a Ukrainian shepherd’s hut, and his business is prospering.

Unfortunately, the public has begun to forget about the Transcarpathian continental center of Europe. In order to restore the popularity of this “Hutsul Paris” (as Empress Maria Theresa Hapsburg called it), it was decided to hold a festival in modern-day Rakhiv. The project was initiated by MP Oksana Bilozir, the former culture minister. During her ministerial tenure she developed the national program called “25 Central Cities of Ukraine.” In the framework of this program 25 run-down populated areas will soon be turned into tourist meccas. The process of rebirth has already begun in Rakhiv.

SINGING AND LISTENING TO UKRAINIAN SONGS

Last year the first Europe Center festival garnered considerable press coverage and received a lot of positive feedback. Immediately proclaimed an international festival, last year’s party featured world folk music star Boban Markovic and an array of Ukrainian rock groups and ensembles. Heartened by this successful beginning, music lovers were looking forward to the second festival.

Then problems began cropping up. Minister of Culture Ihor Lykhovy was not too keen on taking over the mountain of projects left by his female predecessor, and the festival was nearly shelved. The only thing that saved Europe-Center was that it was part of a national program that had to be carried out. Protracted debates along the lines of “To be or not to be” followed. The result: the absence of foreign performers at the second international music forum, because the organizer, the State Enterprise “Ukraina Hastrolna” of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, had no time to negotiate the participation of musicians from abroad. Even so, several thousand music lovers gathered in Rakhiv to listen to Ukrainian-only performers.

The crowd was a pleasant surprise. Even though there were tipsy young fellows in the audience, the crowd was not aggressive, and the whole atmosphere was one of multinational friendship. The young people in the audience greeted both new groups and those promoted by Kyiv television with equally warm cheers and applause. This was the result of a firmly patriotic and balanced stand taken by the management of local FM stations that devote a significant chunk of their air-time to new and alternative music.

The whole park sang along with Hutsul Calypso from Chernivtsi, Tartak, the Afro-Ukrainian group Chornobryvtsi, and Mandry. The police did not hamper the emotional union of musicians and listeners. Emcee Sashko Polozhynsky repeatedly thanked the organizers for not creating a VIP area and barrier in front of the stage. At the end of his performance as the lead musician of Tartak he did some crowd-surfing among the fans, who toppled to the ground with him in tow.

“This is our position,” said, Roman Nedzelsky, president of the festival and director of Ukraina Hastrolna, explaining the absence of last year’s groups Perkalaby and Kati Chili. “We want our show to be a launch pad for young performers. We want new names to light up, like Karna, Faino, Lilia Vavryn, and D. Dreams. That’s why we don’t repeat the festival groups.”

Oksana Bilozir brought an updated concert program to Rakhiv, consisting of old and new songs with a conspicuous folk element. Now that she is immersed in politics, the singer now performs only at the Verkhovna Rada podium. Although her appearance at the festival did not signal the beginning of a concert tour, she promised to hold the occasional concert.

A HABSBURG DESCENDANT TAKES PART IN THE FESTIVAL

To make up for the absence of musicians from abroad, the organizers invited Archduke Johann Habsburg-Lothringen, a descendant of the Habsburg dynasty, and his wife Maria. The great-grandson of Kaiser Franz Josef lives in Austria. A professional engineer, he has been engaged in tourism for quite some time, welcoming travelers to his estate.

His uncle, Wilhelm Habsburg, was the grandson of Emperor Franz Josef. Under the name of Vasyl Vyshyvany he commanded the Legion of Ukrainian Sich Riflemen. The archduke was nicknamed “Vyshyvany” because he almost always wore a Ukrainian embroidered shirt. Owing to his Ukrainian sympathies, he was ostracized by his relatives. After teaching himself Ukrainian, Vasyl Vyshyvany became an important figure in the Ukrainian National Republic and served as an adviser to Symon Petliura. After the defeat of the Ukrainian national revolution of 1921 he returned to Austria, where he was arrested by the Soviet secret police in 1947 and taken to the USSR. Four years later he died in a Soviet concentration camp.

This was Archduke Johann Habsburg’s first visit to Ukraine. The festival administration took him on a four-day sightseeing tour all over Galicia (Halychyna) and Transcarpathia.

“I was amazed to learn that Rakhiv is located in the geographical center of Europe,” says the 59-year-old successor to the former Habsburg throne, adding, “As soon as I learned this, I started looking for information on the Internet. After I came to Ukraine, I became convinced of your European character. Lviv left me with unforgettable impressions. Of course, I had heard and read a lot about this city. Finally I saw it with my own eyes.

“I was at the Lviv Opera, where I saw The Creation of the World. I visited Stanislaviv (Ivano-Frankivsk), Bukovel, and Yaremche. I’m very impressed by your people, your youth; they are so friendly and cultured. While I was in Ukraine, I learned more about Uncle Wilhelm, the Austrian archduke, who was an important Ukrainian figure and patriot of his second homeland, Halychyna. I am proud of him and I want to keep up his cause.”

Habsburg-Lothringen admitted that he is fond of folk and classical music. He also likes Ukrainian folksongs: “Your music is very cheerful and lively, it’s more dynamic than Hungarian music. I also find modern arrangements of authentic songs quite interesting. I was surprised to learn about the format of the music that was going to be performed at the Europe-Center festival.”

A ROUND OF FESTIVALS AWAITS

This year’s festival featuring all the right ingredients — concerts, a fair, craft exhibits — ended successfully. Some festival- goers complained that it could have lasted longer. Nedzelsky has an iron argument for this: “We wanted to extend the festival for two or three days, but people here are busy farming; for them Saturday is a working day. People can’t attend the festival for several days in a row.

“Our plans include a series of quarterly festivals. The one in September honors obzhynky (harvest festival). Next spring we want to hold Shepherds’ Day. That’s when the shepherds take their herds up to the high mountains plains and stay there for the entire summer. A week before Europe-Center, the cheese festival Hutsulska Brynza ended in Rakhiv. Next year we may combine these two festivals.”