A socio-educational stage project proposes for a group of gypsy boys and girls to set up a multidisciplinary stage production with the involvement of their families and their community.
The Gypsy people are the oldest as well as the largest cultural minority in Europe. However, even today, in the 21st century, they continue to be rejected and are subjected to displays of anti-Gypsyism right across the continent, ranging from judicial discrimination or school segregation to lynching and racism. Even in Barcelona school segregation and high unemployment rates are a constant among the Gypsy Community which is also often the object of police harassment. This is due in large part to the constant persecution of the Gypsy culture since reaching the Iberian Peninsula, a story still not very well known, even to a large extent to those who make up this population. In order to try to combat this ignorance, Akana's socio-educational intervention project from the cultural entity Veus Gitanes (Gypsy Voices) wanted to create a multidisciplinary stage show that talks about the history of the Gypsy people from a prejudiced-free perspective. A group of boys and girls between the ages of 9 and 25, and mostly from the La Mina neighbourhood, have been invited to create an assembly to revive the history and values of the Gypsy people and to remember the persecutions they have been subjected and as a result empowering them. Marta Galán is the playwright and artistic director of this project, who having previously starred in Grec Festivals in Barcelona with plays such as Conillet, (Grec 2016) now leads a social project whose main goal is to democratize the access of Gypsy people to an artistic education as well as to artistic and cultural production. It is a creative process based on a participatory methodology that facilitates young people to be responsible for creating texts, images and actions, therefore acquiring tools in artistic expression to narrate their own individual concerns as well as defending their collective dignity.
An artisitic community project involving gypsy boys and girls from La Mina neighbourhood.
A Veus Gitanes production
With the support of the Department of Social Welfare and Family and Popular Culture of the Generalitat de Catalunya, the City Council of Barcelona and the Diputació de Barcelona.
The audio-visual material used in the assembly comes from cinematographic documentaries such as Samudaripen y Sara, by Eva Cruells, as well as from interviews recorded during the rehearsal and creation process.
Creation and Interpretation: José Cortés Valentí, Ismael Cortés Valentí, María Rosa Cortés Cortés, Juan Manuel Cortés Cortés, Viviana Fernández López, Noemí Vargas Amaya, José Cortés Ruiz, Juan Manuel Cortés Ruiz, Sara Puerma Molina, Manuel Puerma Molina, Noemí Flores Gómez, Rafael Perona Castillo, Jonathan Amaya Fernández, Manuel González González, Félix González González, Nicolás Perona Castillo, Fali Perona Salguero, Robert Córdoba Puerma, Sara Perona Salguero, Kiara Fuentes Díaz Coordination and musical composition: Rafael Perona Castillo “Falete”, Rafael Perona Lighting design: Ana Rovira Audio-visual design: Martin Elena Sound design: Cristobal Savedra Scenography: Joan Manrique Production and general coordination: Veus Gitanes-Gypsy Voices (Paqui Perona, Rafi Fernàndez, Eva Cruells, Puri Gallardo) Stage director and dramaturgy: Marta Galán Sala Photography: Eva Cruells
