Joze Batinić – Bukalo
the informal leader of the village of Makar above Makarska
“Dide Joze – my grandpa Šime. My remarkable grandpa from my mother’s side was named Šime. I entered Joze’s tavern and stepped into my grandpa’s world. You can’t escape what you can’t escape. Decibels, manners, perceptive gaze, life written in everything around Dide Joze. It’s all so clear and loud – I confronted a dear part of my childhood. With Joze, you won’t be thirsty for drinks, but neither will you be hungry for stories or knowledge about something he readily shares with people, teaching them about life and how to live it. You leave his colorful tavern enriched. Joze is not just a figure – behind the boisterous facade resides a hardworking man who often goes to pumpkins, but also plants five tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and squash before a photoshoot. He is sharp and energetic, an old-fashioned businessman, as if he came straight out of Mali Mist. I’m still amazed by him.”