The Romani, also spelled Romany or Rromani and colloquially known as the Roma, are an ethnic group of Indo-Aryan origin who traditionally lived a nomadic, itinerant lifestyle. Linguistic and genetic evidence suggests that the Romani originated in the Indian subcontinent, in particular the region of present-day Rajasthan. Their subsequent westward migration, possibly in waves, is now believed by historians to have occurred around 1000 CE. Their original name is from the Sanskrit word डोम, ḍoma and means a member of the Dom caste of travelling musicians and dancers. The Roma population moved west into the Ghaznavid Empire and later into the Byzantine Empire. The Roma are thought to have arrived in Europe around the 13th to 14th century. Although they are widely dispersed, their most concentrated populations are located in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Spain, and Turkey.
Romani music is the music of the Romani people who have their origins in northern India but today live mostly in Europe.
The Romanian word lăutar denotes a class of musicians.
Saint Sarah, also known as Sara-la-Kâli, is the patron saint of the Romani people. The center of her veneration is Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, a place of pilgrimage for Roma in the Camargue, in Southern France. Legend identifies her as the servant of one of the Three Marys, with whom she is supposed to have arrived in the Camargue. Saint Sarah also shares her name with the Hindu goddess Kali who is a popular goddess in northern India from where the Romani people originate. The name "Sara" itself is seen in the appellation of Durga as Kali in the famed text Durgasaptashati.
Tony Gatlif is a French film director of Romani ethnicity who also works as a screenwriter, composer, actor, and producer.
Roma, traditionally Țigani, constitute one of Romania's largest minorities. According to the 2011 census, their number was 621,573 people or 3.3% of the total population, being the second-largest ethnic minority in Romania after Hungarians. There are different estimates about the size of the total population of people with Romani ancestry in Romania, varying from 4.6 per cent to over 10 percent of the population, because many people of Romani descent do not declare themselves Roma. For example, in 2007 the Council of Europe estimated that approximately 1.85 million Roma lived in Romania, based on an average between the lowest estimate and the highest estimate available at the time. This figure is equivalent to 8.32% of the population.
The Crazy Stranger is a 1997 French-Romanian film directed and written by Tony Gatlif. Most of the film was shot at the village of Crețulești, some kilometers from Bucharest, and some of the actors are local Romani people.
The Romani people are a distinct ethnic and cultural group of peoples living all across the globe, who share a family of languages and sometimes a traditional nomadic mode of life. Though their exact origins are unclear, central India is a notable point of origin. Their language shares a common origin with, and is similar to, modern-day Gujarati and Rajasthani, borrowing loan words from other languages as they migrated from India. In Europe, even though their culture has been victimized by other cultures, they have still found a way to maintain their heritage and society. Indian elements in Romani culture are almost non-existent, with the exception of their language. Romani culture focuses heavily on family. The Roma traditionally live according to relatively strict moral codes. The ethnic culture of the Romani people who live in central, eastern and southeastern European countries developed through a long, complex process of continuous active interaction with the culture of their surrounding European population.
Esma Redžepova-Teodosievska was a Macedonian Romani vocalist, songwriter and humanitarian. She was nicknamed "the Queen of the Gypsies" per her contribution to Romani culture and music.
Gypsy jazz is a musical idiom inspired by the Romani jazz guitarist Jean "Django" Reinhardt (1910–1953), in conjunction with the French jazz violinist Stéphane Grappelli (1908–1997), as expressed by their group the Quintette du Hot Club de France. The style has its origins in France and the Manouche clan of Romanis, and has remained popular amongst this clan. Gypsy jazz is often called by the French name "jazz manouche", or alternatively, "manouche jazz" in English-language sources.
Anti-Romani sentiment is a form of bigotry which consists of hostility, prejudice, discrimination, racism and xenophobia which is specifically directed at Romani people. Non-Romani itinerant groups in Europe such as the Yenish, Irish and Highland Travellers are frequently given the name "gypsy" and as a result, they are frequently confused with the Romani people. As a result, sentiments which were originally directed at the Romani people are also directed at other traveler groups and they are frequently referred to as "antigypsy" sentiments.
Tchavolo Schmitt is a Romani jazz guitarist. Schmitt performed as a member of various ensembles in the 1970s. Then he settled in Strasbourg and left the professional circuit for a time, releasing solo albums in 2000. He played Miraldo in the Tony Gatlif film Swing.
European Roma Information Office (ERIO) is an international advocacy organization for Romani people based in Brussels, established on 18 March 2003 with Angéla Kóczé as the Director, announced on the Balkan Human Rights List by way of the Greek Helsinki Monitor.
Mónika Juhász Miczura is a Hungarian Roma singer, also known as Mitsou and Mitsoura. She is a former member of the folk ensemble Ando Drom, and a founding member of the electronic/world music group Mitsoura. She has contributed to film soundtracks; in Tony Gatlif's film Gadjo dilo (1997) she provided the voice of an unseen singer pivotal to the story. She has also sung in the films Kísértések (2002), Swing (2002), Vengo (2000) (uncredited), and Je suis né d'une cigogne (1999). She formed the ensemble Mitsoura that released two albums so far: Mitsoura (2003) and Dura Dura Dura (2008). She has been a guest artist on the albums of other groups, including Fanfare Ciocărlia's Queens and Kings (2007), Bratsch's Rien Dans Les Poches (2000), Besh O Drom's Once I Catch the Devil (2006), GYI! (2005) and Can't Make Me! - Nekemtenemmutogatol (2003). She is a member of the "Global Vocal Meeting" project.
The 46th Cannes Film Festival was held from 13 to 24 May 1993. The Palme d'Or went to Farewell My Concubine by Chen Kaige and The Piano by Jane Campion.
The deportation of Roma migrants from France was subject of intense political debate in France and internationally in 2009 and 2010. After two fatal incidents, President of France Nicolas Sarkozy vowed in July 2010 to evict at least half of the 539 Roma squatted land camps. The Government of France initiated a program to repatriate thousands of Romanian and Bulgarian Roma, as part of the crackdown. Between July and September 2010, at least 51 Roma camps were demolished, and France has repatriated at least 1,230 Roma to Romania and Bulgaria.
Mondo is a 1995 French drama film written and directed by Tony Gatlif based upon the short story by J. M. G. Le Clézio. The film debuted at the Unifrance French Film Festival in Japan 1995, and premiered in France April 17, 1996.
Korkoro is a 2009 French drama film written and directed by Tony Gatlif, starring Francophone actors Marc Lavoine, Marie-Josée Croze and James Thiérrée. The film's cast were of many nationalities such as Albanian, Kosovar, Georgian, Serbian, French, Norwegian, and nine Romani people Gatlif recruited in Transylvania.
Dorado Schmitt is a French guitarist and violinist in Gypsy jazz.
