Sandro Spicijarić - World traveler stays in Dubrovnik

 Maybe you have noticed him. An ordinary man with a guitar. Standing near the Pile Gate. Singing and playing songs for all people who are passing by. Everyone recognizes him, but nobody knows his real story. Human of Dubrovnik. Sandro Spicijarić is a street musician you can meet almost everyday when you enter the Old city of Dubrovnik.

Name: Sandro Spicijarić

Age: Unknown

Hometown: Rijeka

Profession: Boat engineer

Musical instrument: guitar

Length of playing: 25 years, 17 years on the street

Playing spot: Pile gate

Unusual interest: boxing

From necessity to affection

Sandro Spicirajić is not an ordinary musician who is just playing a guitar. He had been playing on the streets of Zagreb for five years. “I did a bit of music there and I also did sport. Then I came to Dubrovnik. I like it a lot because it is warm here. I am not doing boxing here anymore but there are a lot of palm trees! I love them.” Sandro has two loves of his life: „Sport - boxing and music. These two things are my biggest loves. I had to earn money somehow in Zagreb, that was the reason why I started playing the guitar. I stayed there for five years.” Obviously, five years were enough and he got tired of playing there. Sandro took his things and came to Dubrovnik. “I did not go to any music school. I learnt it on my own, like gypsies. But gypsies have somebody to teach them, in their community. I did not have anybody. My dad only loved music, he did not know it. But I am happy that I got the love for the music from him. ”

“I had to earn money somehow in Zagreb, that was the reason why I started playing the guitar.“

Music vs. box

The interesting thing is that he chose music over boxing. “Music is the love of my life. My father also loved music and songs so I grew up with music. It has been a part of my life since I was born.” But boxing has also been part of his life - he started to practice with his dad when he was seven. “I wanted to find the meaning of  my life, to make sense of it and I found it in music and sports.”

When he left home, his first choice was Zagreb. “I wanted to do boxing there. It is also a really beautiful place. I have always listened to what life is telling me. But in Dubrovnik there is a very nice place to play, sing and live with music. Right now, I would not go back to Zagreb.” He remembers his first day in Dubrovnik like this: “It was summer, first of July. I wanted to sleep on the beach, but the police came and kicked me out of the beach. I slowly found an apartment, where I live and practice now.”

“I always take my guitar with me and I play everywhere.”

Pile gate musician

First time playing in Dubrovnik was not a big problem because he had practiced for five years in Zagreb. “Here there are more tourists then in Zagreb. Eventually I have learned how to play, work and how to feel good when I am doing it. At the beginning it was quiet hard but now I feel great. Beginning is hard because you need repertoire of songs. You need to be confident but when you learn it, it is kind of art.” He prefers playing outside and he is  always staying near the Pile gate. Sometimes you can meet him in a restaurant too but only if somebody calls him and offers him a good deal.

Playing in the streets is an adventure

Everything has advantages and disadvantages. In the streets you can meet all kinds of people. Some of them were making fun of Sandro, threw bottles at him, especially at night. “I am not scared because I am a boxer. Actually I have never really needed my boxing skills. I have never wanted to have problems on the spot where I am playing. Things like this are happening in restaurants too. All the other things about playing on the streets are very positive. Talking to new people, meeting them. I do what I love and that is enough for me.”

At some places you can play and at the others you can’t. Sandro has also had some problems in Dubrovnik at the beginning. Fortunately the tourist office now allows him to play there. He says that Croatia is the best country to play in. It is not very complicated to get permission.

“I love beautiful beaches. I know a lot of small secret beaches here and I love them. If you do not know them, you can’t find them.”

Pile musician | Create infographics