I wrote about it in 2012, in 2013, in 2014 and countless other times, but it’s finally good to hear that longtime expat Rupert Wolfe Murray finally gets it too: For many years I thought I knew the answer to the problems faced by the Romani Gypsies: education. If we could just make school more appealing to this population their situation of marginalisation would gradually … Continue reading Volte-face
Few places in Romania have a higher concentration of garish gypsy palaces than the little town of Huedin, located just west of Cluj. The palaces have always struck me as the architectural equivalent of gold grillz and raised trucks—flashy emblems for American proles who want to project a moneyed lifestyle despite earning $30,000 a year. Most people look at such ostentation and shake their heads, including myself. … Continue reading Gypsy Palaces in Huedin
What happens when a foreign photographer who speaks no Romanian travels to the country and takes high-res photos of gypsy palaces? Pure comedy, of course, as well as some really nice pictures. Click on the link for the full experience. I guess Cuvelier never asked where all that fabulous wealth came from LOL Continue reading Inside the Fabulous Homes of “Gypsy Queens”
All the grand poobahs of the film world continue to heap praise on the film Aferim: It’s post-medieval (early 1800s, actually) Wallachia, and the two chatty riders we meet are mercenary “constables” traversing a peasant landscape of plague, frontier justice, and gypsy slaves. Haven’t seen it myself but honestly, it sounds terrible. In the past 10 years I’ve seen only one kind of Romanian film … Continue reading Romania’s Best High Plains Comedy
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