Rijeka audience’s favourite Macedonian musician Kiril Džajkovski and the Greek Eurovision representative Marina Satti lead this year’s line-up, while chefs from around the world will prepare their traditional recipes for the festival crowd.
Originating from Etno Smotra, that was first held in 1996, Porto Etno Festival was also a significant part of the European Capital of Culture 2020 programme. The festival has been successfully operating for several years, and this year’s edition comes with a new level of organisation and programming.
Big Music Names and Diverse Culinary Offers
The most famous multicultural festival in Rijeka will hold its eighth edition on the 28th and 29th of June at Exportdrvo. It celebrates the characteristics that mark the city itself and those that have shaped its rich history – interculturalism and openness. For one summer weekend, Rijeka will once again become the capital of world music and culture.
World music and ethno are the key terms for the music part of the programme, and the gastronomic offer will continue to focus on traditional recipes from various countries, including Croatia. On Porto Etno Festival’s YouTube channel and social media, you can find traditional recipes for burek, mussels, specialities from the Greek-Roma cuisine and other foreign cuisines.
Kiril Džajkovski is considered a world music legend and the founder of the global phenomenon known as Balkan Beat. He is one of the pioneer producers who introduced Balkan ethno sounds into modern dance production and is also a skilled composer of film and theatre music. His band’s live performances now include an MC, trombone, trumpet, and violin. The new concept takes Balkan Beat even further, combining it with glitch hop and Jamaican influences. The result is a funk-driven experience that captivates audiences worldwide. He has performed at major European festivals such as Pohoda, Woodstock, Exit Festival, Repercussion Festival, Rock for People, Latino Roc, Sziget, Rocktamule, Les Vieilles Charrues, Au Foin De La Rue, Festival Les Z’Eclectiques, and Gypsy Jazz Festival.
In May, Marina Satti will represent Greece at Eurovision with a mix of contemporary pop, hip-hop, and traditional sounds, and in June, she will join Kiril in leading the festival line-up in Rijeka. The rising Greek star, whom critics predict a bright future, uses her videos to strongly visually communicate Balkan tradition, while her music reflects her authenticity, inviting celebration of tradition and cultural heritage through dance rhythms.
Diversity of Cultures and Dance Rhythms
This year’s line-up includes the Folk Ensemble Tempet from Makarska, with years of experience in performing traditional folk songs from all over Croatia. There are also Crne Mambe, orchestra of the legendary Šaban Bajramović and Folkatomik, an Italian band based in Turin, known for its sound that combines traditional Southern Italian music and electronic avant-garde.
The group Crne Mambe is celebrating 40 years of performance this year, with over 6,000 performances, including the opening for Carlos Santana in Manchester in 2013 and at the opening of the World Cup in Brazil in 2014. They have also performed with some of the biggest names from the Croatian pop-music scene.
An integral part of the festival from its very beginning is the Porto Etno Orchestra of Zoran Majstorović, an award-winning multi-instrumentalist from Rijeka.
All information about the festival can be found on the website, as well as on Facebook and Instagram.