Prince Csaba, Lead Your People Once More: Hungarian Nationalist Rock and Performance of Place in Szekler Land

Abstract

EMI Tábor (Transylvanian Hungarian Youth Camp) took place in Szekler Land, a majority-Hungarian region in Transylvania that has been a part of Romania since 1920, and an object of nostalgic gaze from Hungary ever since. This nostalgia takes its most radical form in nemzeti (nationalist) rock bands, which are featured at the camp among other evening performances of rock music. This article underscores the importance of the Szekler Land and people in Hungarian nationalist projects, which often use Szeklers as an idealized representation of the nation. EMI Tábor is one place where a reification of Szekler Land takes place, based on historical and mythical connections. By applying a theoretical framework of nationalism and participatory music to performances by two nemzeti rock bands at the camp, I demonstrate how nationalist rock works as a vehicle for populist mobilization, and how Szekler Land is essential to a past that furthers the Hungarian state’s articulation of an identity positioned between East and West in the post-socialist landscape.