Varaždinec, Varaždinec, Son of the Motherland!
About the great patriot, writer, politician and famous personality of Varaždin, to whom the city owes a lot!
And why proud? - anyone will ask. That's why. Because in all these songs and conversations, you won't find a single foreign or Italian word, for us Croats here in the cradle of Croatia, we can't even write five words today without at least two foreign words among them. And yet what a difference between us and that settlement of our people in Italy! They are surrounded all around by the Italians themselves - and we by the Croats! I would almost say, shame! - this is how Pero Magdić, our great patriot, fighter for the Croatian national question and a significant Varaždin intellectual, wrote.
This great native of Varaždin was actually born in Ogulin, in a very poor family. Pero has achieved everything in his life by his own efforts, and he has achieved a lot. He started working as a young man, and he educated himself from his income. He fought against the regime of Ban Khuen-Héderváry, which almost got him kicked out of law school. But thanks to huge citizen support, he successfully completed his doctorate.
Pero did his internship in Varaždin in 1890. Then he especially fell in love with Varaždin. He fell in love with the city so much that he even asked for recognition of his citizenship so that he could get involved in the political life there. Then he opened his law office, became a city representative, and soon the grand prefect of Varaždin County. It's as if the verses were coined after him: "I am a Varaždin, a Varaždin, a son of the Motherland!"
Pero, in addition to being a "homo politician", was also a gifted writer and athlete who made Varaždin indebted. He renewed the work of the local Croatian Falcon in 1902, and was also the owner and publisher of several opposition magazines and a humorous paper called "Štefek s mustači" in that city. Along with a versatile and significant career, he lovingly cared for his large family. Pero, in fact, had as many as ten children.
His patriotism, as well as his love for his family and language, can be seen in a short travelogue called "From Mali Lošinj", in which he described his adventures and mishaps from the trip, but also criticized the Italianization of the coast. There he also described a cute encounter with a resourceful little boy.
"Not far from the cemetery, a smeared boy, 6-7 years old, ran out in front of me, shouting: - Tailor, tailor! - I stop and ask him, what is he? At the same time, I shove my fingers into my pocket as an excuse, as if I'm going to take out a few coins and give them to him.
- I am Italian - answered the boy to my great surprise. To my question again, he repeats the same thing once more. When I told him that it was a shame, that he, who only knows and speaks Croatian, would be Italian. When he saw that he was not going to get anything, the little boy started shouting that he was a Croat! - Now you don't get anything at the same time! - I said to the little trickster and walked on.
At one point, an honorable old man stood in front of me, I guess the grandfather of the little one, and said to me: - Let it go, sir, those girls are girls! - The old man wanted to tell the little boy, but I told him: - This must be reprimanded because children are not allowed to study at home, to deny their language and their Croatian nationality for a few coins! –“
