*I am ONLY speaking of MY OWN experiences and my family's. I hope to not offend anyone, but I am just speaking from what I KNOW not what I THINK or have HEARD.
We have MANY MANY Roma/Gypsies there and they are like a HUGE family. They all defend one another and they are like a pack of wolves in a way, in the sense that they socialize within thier community and defend eachother with such passion no matter the case/situation. They all speak Portuguese and are in fact Portuguese. The Portuguese community has a great respect and in some way a fear torwards they basically "go hard" they are intimidating and they know that. Back in the day Gypsies were like a gang, most had weapons and some robbed people and stole goods so they can sell it in the flea market. In fact, my dad was shot and stabbed by them on two different occasions.
They have a tradition that they marry within their race and they still to this day have arranged marrages. Once a baby is born the parents choose who she will marry and visa-versa. Of course the parents of both families have to come to an aggreement. If a womans husband has passed away, she would wear all black for the rest of her life, and old time tradition she would not shower for a whole year. Now-a-days the younger generations are still following the all black concept but they are not following the not showering for a year anymore like they used to.
The difference between the Roma/Gypsies and the Romanians, is that the Roma/Gypsies are generally darker skin, dark hair, but most have light colored eyes, I believe that the reason why they are all tan, is due to the fact that they all marry within their race. The Romanians on the other had are just starting to immigrate to Portugal, and they are in fact pale, with lighter hair and from what I have in fact seen, they are stereotyped as "free-loaders", in the way that they just stand on the streets begging for money, and in fact pick-pocket people. One day I was at the outdoor market, and I witnessed two Romanian young women attempt to pick pocket a tourist. They take advantage of tourists because they are new to the country and are not aware of their intentions. However, unlike the Gypsies, the Romanians do not travel in such a large group like th Roma/Gypsies do.
In conclusion, when the professor referred to the term Gypsy as a derogatory term I did not agree with here because of my personal experiences. They call each other "Cigano's" which means gypsies. Everyone referrs to them as that and they are aware and are okay with it. It is WHO THEY ARE. Just like I am Portuguese, I wouldn't get offended if someone reffered to me as Portuguese. And the Romanians are "Romano's". Group photograph captioned 'Hungarian Gypsies all of whom were deported' in The New York Times, Sunday Feb. 12, 1905
Roma/Gypsies in Barcelona
I hope to no offend anyone nor come across as racist, I in fact am very interested in their customs and culture, I have friends that are Ciganos in Portugal, and I find that their distinctive look is beautiful. =) I feel terrible for those who have been abused and taken advantage of in the past by the NAZI and other European Officials. But I am glad to say that in Braga, Portugal where my family and I are from, there is none of that. We all get along.
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