Ľudovit Petík

* 1952

  • My grandfather from my mother's side was the best cimbalo player in the region. He went to school for 12 years and he spoke hungarian as well. I don't know where he came from but they were a musical family. His younger brother was a violin player and he was a cimbalo player. One hungarian woman got married to some noble man in Lipany. She only spoke hungarian. Before she had played cimbalo in Hungary as well and she was looking for a cimbalo teacher. She hired my grandfather. Thus Jozef Dužda who spoke hungarian bcause he taught in Sabinog an his brother as well. My grandfather's cimbalo was broken and when the baroness came to him, because sometimes she had to come to his place and when she saw the broken cimbalo she took care of it. She talked to her parents and explained them that my grandfather was her teacher and that she would neet a new cymbalo for herself. They brought two cymbalos – one for her and one for my grandfather.

  • When I was in the boarding school I met another Roma from Greece. He lived with us. They sent him for the mechanical training. By a coincidence we share a room. He didn't know I was Roma and I didn't know he was one either. Only once when we drank together he took his guitar and started to sing. He mixed some words in roma in it. Then he sang a song all in Roma. I asked him: 'Are u Roma?' He nodded. 'And you?' I said me too. He looked at be very surprised and me back at him.... He was schocked. Me, I wasn't.

  • During WWII they worked in the both places. My grandmother, my cousins who were 10 years old at that timehad to work in Branisko, carrying stones to build the road. The romas from Hanušovce, Bystré as well. The Romas from Sabinov, Chmiňany, Ražňany, Veľký Šariš were transported to work on the road in Branisko.

  • My grand-grandfather lived in Sabinov. From what the old residents remember he was coach driver of the baroness Sabina. He had his band, they played in banquets. He was a good violinist. My grand-father was even better in playing the violin and finally my father was the best of them all. He was talented. My father visited Cemjat when he was 15 years old, a place where the Prešov posh inhabitants from upper class were meeting. Already back then they knew he was a really good violinis including other musicians from Prešov and Chmiňany.

  • Celé nahrávky
  • 1

    Prešov, 11.05.2017

    ()
    délka: 
Celé nahrávky jsou k dispozici pouze pro přihlášené uživatele.

I am a Roma but I was born in Slovakia. I received training and I have worked for this society for 45 years. I want my children to be able to say this.

Petik Ľudovit - vojak zakladnej služby 02.jpg (historic)
Ľudovit Petík
zdroj: Dobové foto. archív Ľudovíta Petíka; aktuálne foto: foto Alexander Mušinka

Ľudovít Petík was born in 1952 in Ražňany village (district Sabinov) to the family of an excellent musician and a mason. His father came from a famous musical family whose family tree‘s origins are in Chmiňany village. Ľudovít Petík‘s father played violin since he was 15 years old in roma bands in Prešov and Sabinov cafes, balls, weddings etc. Ľudovít Petík had í siblings (the oldest sister dies as a child before Mr. Petík was born). First four years of elementary school he completed in the village and the four years in Sabinov. Afterwards he went to training school with apprenticeship at LIAZ  state-company in Jablones nad Nisou, however, in 1968 after the invasion of Czechoslovakia he returned to the eastern Slovakia. In Prešov he finished the vocational training school with apprenticeship at ZVL state-company. Afterwards he married Jolana (née Holubová) and they raised 5 children. He completed the obligatory military service and started to work at ZVL company as a truck-driver until 1988. The he was transferred to the public transportation company in Prešov as a bus driver. He kept this job until his retirement in 2014. Ľudovít Petík has been actively engaged in the Roma civil and political activities in Prešov. After the 1989 revolution he was one of the founders of the Democratic Union of Romas and he became a member of the disciplinal committee in the city council of Prešov. He also ran for member of the city council office. Ľudovít Petík has been joining cultural Roma activities regularly. His children and grandchildren have finished secondary education. On top of that most of them have also received musical education and they have been keeping  the family musical tradition.