Gitanos

“Gitanos” is the name of the Romani people in Spain. “Gitanos” derives from the Spanish word “egipciano” which means “Gypsies”. “Las Tres Mil Viviendas” is recognized as the gypsy ghetto in Seville; located in Triana. Learning about the Spanish gypsies while in Spain is something I wanted to do because Spain has one of the largest gypsy communities around the globe. The history of their journey is, as you will read about, more interesting than that of the Jews or Muslims.
The gypsies originally came from northwestern India, thus, their native language became Sanskrit. In the beginning of the 15th century the gypsies left India and dispersed all over Europe, Russia, and Middle East before finding their way to America. A group of Gypsies arrived in Barcelona, Spain circa 1477 during the pilgrimage to Santiago. They were pilgrims
Freedom is what the Gypsies wanted that’s why the Gypsies have never taken part in the mainstream Spanish culture. The work ethic and lifestyle of a payo, a non-gypsy has caused the Gypsies to live in their own little world. For this reason, the gypsies are always on the move. In case a situation breaks out between two Gypsies the Gypsies have their own judicial system. The Gypsies community operates in a matriarchal society which means women run the community; the mothers name is on their sons’ birth certificates. For example, Paco de Lucia means Paco, the name of the man, from Lucia, who is his mother. The second most important aspect in the gypsy community is family. In the gypsy community everyone are “primos”, or cousins. Their physical beauty especially their almond complexion, their special spark for flamenco dancing and bullfighting are things the gypsy families pride themselves on. There are traditions and rituals that go from one generation to the next. But the main thing that the gypsies pride themselves on is not feeling ostracized by the non-gypsy