HISP 298 - Roma in Spain: From Cerbantes to Rosalia

The arrival of Roma pilgrims in Spain, known more commonly as “gitanos,” took place in the early 15th century, and their history has been marked by persecution and phases of social exclusion. For 50 years, political and religious authorities protected the Roma as pilgrims. But when the Inquisition began in 1478, under the Catholic Kings, nomadic Roma groups came under the supervision of religious authorities. Spain’s nation-building created a power structure based on a war of religions and led to the persecution of the Roma (for their lack of religion), as well as Jews and Muslims. In 1749 they were once again singled out for persecution with the Gran Redada designed to rid the country of Roma. Ten thousand were arrested simultaneously, the men and women separated and sent to labour camps. This ideological legacy continued with Franco dictatorship and its anti-Roma law. Roma weren’t recognised as Spanish citizens until 1978 with the arrival of democracy in Spanish society. Nowadays, Spanish Roma population stands at around 750,000 distributed across the peninsula, with a most concentrated presence in Andalusia, as well as in Catalonia, Valencia and Madrid. As contemporary representations engage with Roma culture in more positive ways, earlier stereotypes are not so easily shed.

Credits 1