ILIJA BAKMAZ WINS 30TH ROMANIJA GUSLE ASSEMBLY "ROMANIJO, GORO OD JUNAKA"

SOKOLAC, FEBRUARY 20 /SRNA/ – Gusle player Ilija Bakmaz from Sokolac won the jubilee 30th Guslars' Assembly "Romanijo, Goro od Junaka", held this evening in the municipality.

Bakmaz said it was a great honor to perform before his home audience and thanked the jury for selecting him as the winner. “I have been playing the gusle since I was ten years old, and it is a family tradition,” said Bakmaz, who has now won the Sokolac Guslars’ Assembly for the second time. The event was organized by the Association of Gusle Players of Republika Srpska and the Sokolac Gusle Society "Romanija". Association President Boško Golijanin said this was a major jubilee and noted positively that there remains a large number of people who respect Serbian history, culture, and tradition. “We endure on gusle values, and we also have many young gusle players who will continue and preserve this tradition,” Golijanin stated. Traditional gusle performer Đorđije Koprivica, who appeared in the revue segment of the Assembly, said that if there is a place where the gusle should be heard, it is Romanija. He added that there is no need to worry about the future of the gusle on Romanija for the next 50 years, given the large number of young performers who love the instrument. Twelve-year-old gusle player Sveto Vujović from Bileća said his love for the gusle developed spontaneously; he has been playing for five years and is the youth champion of all Serbian lands. “My friends support me and say that what I do is nice, but they are more interested in sports or video games,” Vujović told reporters. The only female gusle performer was Violeta Krajišnik from Bijeljina, who has played the instrument since elementary school and encouraged young people to nurture this tradition. President of the Gusle Society "Romanija" Milovan Radović said that after 30 years of organizing the Assembly, the society has achieved its goal of continuing the gusle tradition on Romanija. Sokolac Mayor Strahinja Bašević emphasized the importance of maintaining such events, noting that throughout Serbian history the gusle have been one of the pillars for passing values from generation to generation. “Tonight we enjoyed ourselves and, through the gusle, were reminded of the traditional values that have guided the Serbian people through history,” Bašević concluded.