The World of the Romanies

Although Carrie Cracknell’s staging of Carmen transports the action from 19th-century Seville to a contemporary American border town, in Bizet’s original composition, the title character and her compatriots are explicitly described as “Gypsies,” or in French, bohémiens. This term, which now has largely negative connotations and is considered a slur by some, refers to the Romani people, who are believed to have originally migrated from northern India, reaching the European continent by the 14th century. The English word Gypsy derives from the Middle English term gypcian, or Egipcien (Egyptian). It thus refers to the group’s supposed origins in Egypt or northern Africa, perhaps due to their darker skin. In Spain, the Romanies are referred to as Gitano (or Gitana). Like Gypsy, Gitano is an exonym—that is, a name for a group of people used by those who are not part of that group. The Romanies in Spain refer to themselves by the endonym Calé, from their language Caló, which combines aspects of Latin-derived Romance languages with the Romani language.

Since the Romani way of life did not seem to conform to notions of Christian morality, they were viewed by Europeans as being ruled by their basest instincts, with no regard for honor or sexual control. In strict 19th-century society, any kind of behavior that did not follow its own austere codes of conduct was seen as morally corrupt. European authors projected lurid attributes upon Romani women. They were portrayed as sexually promiscuous, immodest, and outside of “decent” society. In much of the art, music, and literature of the 19th century, they were stereotyped as free spirited, strong, deviant, demanding, sexually alluring, and impertinent. In reality, Romani culture holds women to strict ethical codes of conduct with respect to sexuality and promiscuity is not tolerated.

The Gitano ethnic minority in Spain have long been subject to institutional discrimination and persecution. Between 1499 and 1783, Catholic monarchs issued more than 250 anti-Romani decrees. During this period, the Romani were alternately expelled, interned, forced to abandon their trades, and forbidden to speak their own language. Today there are an estimated 725,000–750,000 Calé in Spain, largely in Andalusia, the country’s southernmost region. They continue to endure poorer social outcomes than most of the Spanish population, despite improved material conditions after Spain’s transition to democracy following the fall of dictator Francisco Franco’s fascist regime in 1975. In 1978, more than half of Gitanos were illiterate, though this number has been reduced to 10 percent in recent years. As of 2014, only five percent of Romani students completed high school, and as of 2019, 98 percent of Gitanos lived below the poverty line. Just last year, the Spanish congress passed a new law classifying antigitanismo as a hate crime. Still, because their government has yet to recognize the Calé as an ethnic minority population, policymakers, NGOs, and other organizations lack crucial data needed to address Romani marginalization head-on.

Since Spain’s democratization in 1975, many organizations advocating for Gitano political representation—known broadly as the Roma Associative Movement—have appeared. These include political parties like the Partido Nacionalista Caló, formed in 1999, and Partido Alianza Romani, founded in 2004. Recent years have also seen a proliferation of Calé youth, feminist, and LGBTQ+ organizations, like Asociación Gitanas Feministas por la Diversidad and Ververipen. Despite their 600-year marginalization, the Romani have made significant contributions to Spanish history and culture, especially in music and dance, where the development of cultural forms like flamenco and folk songs known as Sevillanas is rooted in Gitano practice and influence.

We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of the Hon. Ian F. Hancock in reviewing these materials. Dr. Hancock was appointed by President Clinton to represent the Romani victims of the Holocaust on the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council and served as Romani Ambassador to the United Nations (ECO-SOC/DPI/NGO-UNICEF) in New York and Geneva. He is the author of We Are the Romani People, among other works, and received an OBE (Order of the British Empire) from Queen Elizabeth II in 2019.