Event Details

The School of Global Affairs is delighted to host a talk on "Flamenco Gitano, Romani Memories and Ethnopolitics in Spain's Transition to Democracy" by Carlos van Tongeren (University of Manchester) in dialogue with Joanna Kostka (Sociology, LU). Please join us in person or online.

As illustrated a few years ago by outbursts of violence against Gitanos in the province of Jaén, the marginalisation of Roma communities remains a complex issue in Spanish society. Such events often lead to indignation in the media by scholars, journalists and activists who underline that contemporary acts of racism, repression, and other forms of violence against the Roma have a long history on the Iberian Peninsula. Nevertheless, historical forms of violence against the Roma still have limited visibility in public and scholarly debates about memory in contemporary Spain and elsewhere. In this talk, Carlos van Tongeren will examine the cultural outputs of several artists who have explored the history of systemic violence against the Roma through the embodied medium of flamenco. He will focus on two pieces that were both released in 1976, during the early stages of Spain’s transition to democracy: Camelamos naquerar, by José Heredia Maya and Mario Maya; and Persecución, by Félix Grande and Juan Peña “El Lebrijano”. Based on an analysis of these performances, van Tongeren argues that flamenco became an important medium to voice memories of violence against the Roma in post-Franco Spain. He also examines flamenco’s role in shaping the “ethnopolitics” of Romani grassroots organisations during this period.

Please join us on December 5th at 5pm in person in Bowland North SR23 or online via Teams.