THE ROMANI (Gypsies) from California to Camp Land

There is a Romany saying –
“Dance in your own circle - where ever you go learn a new step. Make the best of where you are, not to be like them, but to know."
Mary, American Gypsy ( Romni) California -USA

This series of photographs is a visual story of the Romani I have known and their struggle to maintain their traditions in the face of modernity. Highlighting children from California (USA) to Italy, these images represent twenty–five years of photographic research and oral history. My intention has been to see beyond the stereotypes of “Gypsy,” which limit our understanding of the Roma. In the subjects of my photographs I experience the human paradox and a beauty tinged with sorrow. People without a homeland, the Roma have survived slavery, Hitler’s death camps, and racial discrimination. They have been victimized in other people’s wars. Because of their strong social tenets and loyalty to family and clan, for the Roma, although they have settled in communities worldwide, home is truly where the heart is.

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