As the exhibition was displayed on the occasion of the Meeting of the Croatian Diaspora of South America, organized by the Paraguayan-Croatian Chamber of Commerce in Asunción, representatives of the Croatian Diaspora from Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Bolivia, and Chile were also present.
A large exhibition tour of the Zagreb Ethnographic Museum https://emz.hr/tagovi-izlozbe/braca-seljan/ started in South America with the opening of the exhibition “Seljan Brothers – Croatian Researchers in South America” in Asunción, the capital of Paraguay.
The Ethnographic Museum announced on Friday that the exhibition was set in the historic and cultural center of the city of Manzana de la Rivera, opposite the presidential palace in the heart of the city. The exhibition of the city museum located within that building complex contains documents and photographs from the history of the city, including those from the time when the brothers Mirko and Stevo Seljan lived there.
The Ethnographic Museum states that the hosts prepared a music program during the opening which gathered about 150 guests, and the exhibition was opened by Zvonko Milas, State Secretary of the Central State Office for Croats Abroad.
On that occasion, Felix Toranzos, the director of the cultural center, expressed satisfaction that he had gotten the honor of hosting an Ethnographic Museum exhibition that allows one to see new aspects of the development of Asunción.
The director of the Ethnographic Museum Goranka Horjan thanked the architect Gustav Glavinich for his great commitment to setting up the exhibition and the help of the Paraguayan-Croatian Chamber of Commerce, which she presides over during the realization of this valuable exhibition.
As the exhibition was displayed on the occasion of the Meeting of the Croatian Diaspora of South America https://glashrvatske.hrt.hr/hr/izvan-domovine/otvoren-6-susret-hrvatske-dijaspore-juzne-amerike-6440552, organized by the Paraguayan-Croatian Chamber of Commerce in Asunción, representatives of the Croatian Diaspora from Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Bolivia, and Chile were also present.
After being in Ethiopia, brothers Mirko and Stevo Seljan from Karlovac, both in the service of Emperor Menelik II, went to South America in 1903 where they spent the next ten years exploring Brazil, Paraguay, Peru, and Chile, as the authorities hired them to explore the possibilities of transport connecting important centers of commerce.
They conducted numerous expeditions there, which they recorded in newspaper articles and books, diaries, and photographs. They connected with Croatian emigrants throughout South America and the United States, worked on their interconnection, and established business cooperation.
Mirko died in 1913 during an expedition to Peru, after which Stevo started a family in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, where he died in 1936. Zora Seljan, Steva’s eldest daughter, was a Brazilian writer, theatrologist, journalist, theater critic, and author of several plays.
The exhibition, prepared by Marija Živković, will also be held in Santiago (Chile), Lima (Peru), Ouro Preto, Sao Paulo, and Curitiba (Brazil). (Hina)