'Catalonia wouldn't be the place it is without the Roma community,' says parliament speaker

Since 1971, April 8 has marked International Roma Day, a day to celebrate Roma culture and history, defend the rights of Roma people, and shine a much-needed light on the struggle against discrimination and anti-Roma sentiment.

This year’s celebration coincides with the declaration of 2025 as the Year of the Roma People by the Spanish Council of Ministersty, commemorating 600 years since the arrival of the Roma people to the Spain.

On Thursday morning, the blue, green, and red Roma flag was raised from the balcony of the Barcelona City Council, located in the central Plaça de Sant Jaume Square, with the participation of the city’s mayor, Jaume Collboni

The blue and green colors of the flag represent heaven and earth, respectively, while the red wagon wheel in the middle is a symbol of the Roma people’s journey from India.

"Solidarity with the Roma community”

During the ceremony, Collboni emphasized the community’s fundamental role in the city’s collective history and announced new measures to ensure "the full inclusion and active participation of the Roma people in all areas of the city’s social, cultural, political, and economic life.”

He also revealed a plan to create an Interdepartmental Table for the Roma people, describing it as a “fundamental tool to coordinate all efforts and keep the commitment alive.”

The Catalan government also marked the day, and the Speaker of the Catalan Parliament, Josep Rull, called anti-Roma discrimination “a form of racism that still hasn’t been fully eradicated.”

He added that “Catalonia will stand in solidarity with the Roma people,” and said that “Catalonia wouldn’t be the place we know without the Roma community.”

Anti-Roma sentiment remains a problem

During Tuesday’s event at the Catalan Parliament, Simón Montero, the president of the Federation of Roma Associations in Catalonia, called for continued efforts to combat “anti-Roma discrimination,” saying that it “must be eradicated once and for all.”

Montero also stressed that the federation will fight for a law that “combats anti-Roma discrimination and protects Roma people from any kind of discrimination and violence.”

Cristobal Laso, the president of the Roma Platform Politirrom, called for “justice, dignity, and self-governance for the Roma people.”

“Half a century later, inequality persists, anti-Roma sentiment remains present in our institutions, and our collective memory has yet to be repaired,” he said.

According to a 2023 Eurobarometer, anti-Roma discrimination is considered the most widespread type of discrimination in Europe.

Similarly, a 2023 report from the Spanish Ministry of Equality found that 56% of Roma people in Spain have experienced some form of everyday discrimination, while 77% of respondents believed that prejudice and discrimination have worsened over time.

Roma-led initiatives

In 2016, a group of Roma students in Catalonia created CampusRom, the Roma University Network of Catalonia, to promote equal access to higher education and academic success for the community.

According to 2018 CampusRom data, only 10 of every 1,000 Roma people went to university, compared to 400 out of every 1,000 among non-Romas.

The Barcelona neighborhood of Gràcia has long had a significant Roma population and is the birthplace of some of the creators of Catalan rumba music such as Antonio González ‘Pescaílla’ and Pedro Pubill ‘Peret’.

The Gràcia-based organization RROMANIPE’S offers guided neighborhood tours exploring Roma history. They also offer Romani language classes and other educational courses on topics including the Romani holocaust, Samudaripen.

The Plataforma per la Defensa per la Rumba Catalana (the Platform for the Defense of Catalan Rumba) was launched in 2023 to promote Rumba Catalana's bid for UNESCO World Heritage status.

Famous Catalan Roma figures

Rumba musicians ‘Pescaílla’, ‘Peret’, and Gato Pérez are among some of the most well-known Catalan Roma musicians. Other iconic figures include the Amaya family, whose most famous member is Carmen Amaya. She was born in the shanty town of Somorrostro in Barcelona in 1917 and is widely regarded as the best flamenco dancer in history.  

In Catalan politics, for the first time ever, there are two sitting members of parliament, Andrés García Berrio from left-wing Comuns and Socialist Susana Martínez Heredia.

History behind April 8

International Roma Day is celebrated every April 8 to commemorate the first World Roma Congress, held in London on April 8 in 1971. It was at this congress that the Roma flag and anthem were adopted, and an agreement was reached to work towards the recognition of the Roma people by the United Nations.

At the 4th World Roma Congress, held in Poland in 1990, April 8 was officially chosen to be World Roma Day.

Where to celebrate

The Liceu Conservatory of Barcelona will host Das Pativ, ‘The Celebration’,  beginning at 5.30 pm with free entry. The event will include a Rumba Festival, a theater performance, and a flamenco concert.

At 7 pm, another event will take place at Barcelona's Plaça de Catalunya, where the Municipal Council of Roma people will read a manifesto, followed by music performances and the singing of the Roma anthem “Gelem-Gelem.”

Romani language

Romani is the main language of the Roma community and is spoken by millions across the world.

In 2022, the first Romani-Catalan dictionary was published by Catalan Indo-European linguist Ignasi-Xavier Adiego and Seo Ćizmić, the honorary ambassador of the Romani language and director of Romanó Kher, a Barcelona meeting space that promotes Roma history, memory, and culture.

At the time, Ćizmić told Catalan News that he hoped Roma people would keep the dictionary at home to look up words "when they want to learn a word or want to say something." 

Podcast

Listen to our episode of Filling the Sink, where we talk about the origins of the language and where it stands today. We hear from Seo Ćizmić as well as Marinela Isuf, who is a Roma activist and Romani teacher from RROMANIPE'S.  

To learn more about the Romani language, listen to the latest episode of our podcast, Filling the Sink.