photos: Alexandros Katsis
The Guca (Guča) trumpet festival, also known as the Dragačevski sabor trubača (in Serbian), is an annual brass band festival in the town of Guca, near Čačak city in Dragačevo, region of western Serbia.The first Guca festival was held on October 16, 1961 in the yard of the Church of St Gabriel in Guča. Now, almost 1.000.000 visitors from Serbia and around the world come to the city with a population of 2.000 inhabitans, every August. This specific region of Serbia has a numerous great trumpet players. Rumors say that when Miles Davis visited the place he said: "I didn't know you could play trumpet that way". Of course the festival is an integral part of the trumpet tradition but outside the center, life continues in the classic rhythms throughout the year. So a little away from the noisy brass, you can easily recognize the serenity of a classic small village of 2,000 inhabitants.