USA ”Wanta”

At the International Festival of Highland Folklore, in addition to groups presenting folklore of highlanders from all over the world, there will also appear artists who direct their energy towards maintaining the music and dance traditions of Podhale. However, they do not live at the foot of the Tatras, some of them were not even born in Podhale. However, there is a city

in the world that, although thousands of kilometres away from Zakopane, can gather Podhalans and make highlander music and encourage dance. This city is Chicago, from where the group comes from. In the highland “Wanta” dialect it is a loose rock block, unconnected rock. The word perfectly reflects the situation of artists who come from the Tatras, but they are not permanently attached to the Podhale region. Founded more than 10 years ago, the group is proud of participating in the American version of the highland opera, “John Paul II in Podhale.” The aim of the group is primarily to cultivate the Tatra traditions and to present them to the broad American audience. Their performances are graced by events organized by the North American Podhale Association. The artists have already recorded two albums with highland music. “Let’s Have a Romantic Getaway” and “Kje Se zaspiywomy”. During the festival they will be able to share their interpretation of the music of the region with which they are so closely connected.

The group wish to be in category II: artstic