Václav Havel’s 1978 essay The Power of the Powerless is eerily relevant today
Trutnoff Open Air celebrates its “tribal chief” Václav Havel on what would have been his 90th birthday
This year’s edition of the legendary Trutnoff Open Air music festival is dedicated to Václav Havel, marking what would have been his 90th birthday. Even when Havel was president, he was known simply as “the tribal chief” at the rock festival, which he had supported since its underground days.
Trutnov’s festival grounds, August 2008. A pub inside a tent, an underground stage. In front of a packed tent, the president and the tribal chief in one person sat down at the microphone. At the age of 71, Havel managed to entertain an audience generations younger with a humorous story. Applause and laughter followed almost every sentence of his account of visiting a Brazilian indigenous tribe, where he managed to throw a spear at a target better than the tribe’s chief. According to the tribe’s traditions, this meant that Havel should become the new chief. Havel returned to the Czech Republic, but at least among the festival’s fans, the title of tribal chief stayed with him forever.
“If you meet someone like that when you’re 16 or 17, it gets engraved so deeply in your heart that the mark stays there forever. Havel never put himself above anyone. When you sat down and talked with him, you never walked away from the conversation feeling like an idiot. You were Havel’s equal.”
Martin Věchet, the organiser of Trutnoff Open Air, recalled his first meeting with Havel in an interview with Czech Radio.
The festival, whose origins date back to 1984, is considered the oldest Czech rock festival and is often nicknamed the Czech Woodstock. The festival is known for its broad musical range, with very different performers sharing the same stage, as well as for its overlaps into non-musical areas, particularly ecology, politics and religion. This year’s edition also began with an Open Air service followed by rock bands. Alongside regular ecumenical services and music, the festival programme also includes discussions on cultural, social and political topics, as well as theatre performances, exhibitions and film screenings.
“People come here for that atmosphere of a community, as our tribal chief used to call it. And the festival is not just about music, but also about that moment of coming together. It is also about the non-musical activities that take place over those four days. Another special feature of the festival is that each year it is dedicated to a particular event or personality.”
Previous editions have been dedicated, for example, to Charter 77 and the anniversary of the end of the Second World War. This year, the festival marks what would have been Václav Havel’s 90th birthday. Havel remains present at the festival every year not only through its atmosphere but also through T-shirts featuring his image, which continue to be popular not only among those who remember him but also among younger people.
This year’s headliners include the New York-based Romani punk band Gogol Bordello, as well as Czech bands Lucie, Monkey Business or The Plastic People of the Universe. This year, the festival started on 13 August and ends on 16 August.
