Pat Barrera hadn’t been out to see her favorite music in a while.
But when she sat at a table on a recent Sunday to watch the 55th Annual Chicago Festival of Polka Bands in Orland Park, the bands quickly brought her back to a time when she would have been on the dance floor at Polonia Banquets, the “heartland” for polka functions until it closed a couple of years ago.
“When I hear some of this music, I can’t dance anymore but it hits my heart,” Barrera said. “I could sit here and be happy and cry, because it brings back all of these memories.”
Barrera, a longtime resident of Chicago’s Southwest Side, grew up in a Polish household. As a child, her mother always played a Polish radio channel on Sundays. And while Barrera cannot speak Polish well today, the traditions and the music stuck with her.
“Till today, I could sing you any song you want to hear,” she said.
As with many music genres, some children inherited their parents’ polka interests while others did not, leaving the dance music not quite as popular as it once was — and with fewer places to call home. But a polka dance still has a way of feeling like a family reunion. In fact, “family” was the No. 1 word people used to describe the appeal of the International Polka Association‘s gatherings.
“Once you meet somebody, you may not see them for a whole year, but when you do see them it’s a huge ‘How are you? What’s going on?'” said Carol Trzebiatowski, of Bridgeview. “We are like family.”
Trzebiatowski got into polka more than 60 years ago by working for a disc jockey at a dance. She fell in love with the scene immediately.
She helped collect admission and check in guests at the Jan. 14 festival at Elements by The Odyssey in Orland Park, which featured Eddie Korosa Jr. and the Boys and Girl from Illinois, Tony Blazonczyk & New Phaze, IPA Tribute Band, E-Z Tones, Polka Generations, and The Music Company, following a warm-up dance Saturday with Lenny Gomulka & Chicago Push.
Alongside her at the table was Sally Rzeszutko, of Chicago, who has also been following polka for more than six decades after growing up at the venues where her father played as a polka drummer.
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“We are all friends,” Rzeszutko said. “We’ve known each other for a long time and love the music. I love all music, but polka’s No. 1.”
Tony Blazonczyk, of Crest Hill, followed in the footsteps of his father, Eddie, who was a musician, band leader and record store owner, in addition to running a recording studio.
“It was just in the blood,” Blazonczyk said. “You grew up with it.”
But his connections to the world of polka go beyond blood. He stuck with it because of that feeling he gets performing as part of the community.
“It’s a family,” Blazonczyk said. “You come to a dance and everybody knows everybody. … It’s happy music. The people are always excited when they’re here.”
Dan Mateja, of Orland Park, who is the treasurer of the International Polka Association and leads the IPA Tribute Band on saxophone and clarinet, is among those who describe polka as family, noting he has friends he made in 17 states through the music.
“We’re very collegial,” Mateja said. “A lot of polka people are more like family than friends. We know each other. We stay at each other’s houses when we travel to other states.”
Mateja’s parents were first-generation Polish Americans who always listened to polka on the radio. Around 8 years old, Mateja started going to events with them and never left the scene. At 15, he began playing music and found friends and fellow musicians who shared his passion.
“I love the music,” he said. “It’s part of my Polish heritage.”
Polka is a style of dance music originally credited to Bohemia during the 19th century. But its popularity spread across Europe and then America with a variety of styles. Mateja said Cleveland is considered the U.S. home base of Slovenian-style music, while Chicago and Buffalo are both known for the Polish style. Czech music is popular in Texas, while Wisconsin features German-Dutch polka.
“It’s a little different all over,” Mateja said. “Many of the mainstay cities where Polish and European immigrants came to live are still going strong — Chicago, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Cleveland, places on the East Coast, as well.”
But Christy Krawisz, the IPA’s president for the past five years — after a six-year stint on its board in the 1990s before rejoining it in 2010 — knows the work it takes to keep up the traditions. She got into polka as a child by going to dances to see her father play accordion. She witnessed countless events draw 500-600 people and enjoyed seeing IPA’s Hall of Fame housed upstairs at Polonia.
Krawisz has also watched Polonia close and along with it the Glendora House in Chicago Ridge, which hosted events for more than three decades. The Hall of Fame is currently in storage. And yet, polka endures as not only a great form of entertainment and good cardio exercise but also a way to make lifelong connections, Krawisz said.
“I fell in love with the music,” she said. “I met my husband in polkas. … I met a lot of great people in the industry. I consider a lot of them brothers and sisters because I’ve known them my whole life. It’s a wonderful experience. Everyone’s so kind, so friendly, and we all have the same love for music.”
Elements has been a great partner as IPA’s latest home for an annual festival designed to recognize January as National Polka Month, Krawisz said. A lot of the people who used to attend the events in Chicago moved to the Orland, Palos and Tinley area. And band members hail from the likes of Orland Park, Mokena, Palos Park, Palos Hills and Crest Hill.
Though with an aging following polka attendance often fluctuates based on the weather, Krawisz said the annual dance, always held the weekend of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, has never been canceled in 55 years.
“The people who come have a good time,” Krawisz said. “The bands always make you feel like you’re somebody important. It doesn’t matter if you’re new or if you’ve been here for 50 years. The bands just really make it a fun environment.”
Krawisz encourages others to give polka a try, even if they might be skeptical, and understand that there are a variety of styles. A number of polka bands are even incorporating other genres into what they do — from country to bluegrass to rock.
“Have an open mind,” she said. “The music is really good music.”
Bill Jones is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
