April 26, 2020 – Did you know that Homer drinks Zuja? The Croatian connection to hit show The Simpsons for Hvar and Brac.
One of the things that I love about writing about all things Croatia is that it is a constant journey of discovery. Croatians are serial overachievers in general, and their contribution to the world is disproportionately larger than the size and population of the country.
We all know about Nikola Tesla, the ethnic Serb born and raised in a village in modern-day Croatia, the necktie, and Penkala’s pen, but the more you look, the more you find Croatian excellence. I only recently discovered, for example, that diazepam has its home in Opatija, the suitcase on wheels was invested decades ago by a Polish-Croat, and that laminate flooring is the brainchild of a Croat in Sweden.
But the discovery that Homer drinks Zuja? Wow, that explains a lot.
I was sent this VERY Croatian sketch of The Simpsons recently, as well as an explanation as to why the Croatian colours and symbols adorn a scene in the iconic hit American show.
It is, apparently, thanks to one very talented colourist (or perhaps that should be colorist) from California called Dominique Blaskovich, who is of Croatian origin.
The surname is familiar to me, being an adopted Hvar son-in-law, and it is one of the main surnames in the next village, Vrboska – Blaskovic.
And, according to the information I was sent, that looks quite likely as the ancestral home of the Croatian connection, as Dominique’s parents both apparently hail from Dalmatia’s gorgeous islands – her father from Hvar and her mother from Selca on Brac.
And Homer drinks Zuja…
If anyone has more information on this, I would love to hear from you, especially if there are any family members on Hvar. Contact me via [email protected]
