Nerja celebrates the International Romani Day
Here is the essential information about the International Romani Day in Nerja:
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- A few words about Nerja
- The dates of this celebration
- The programme of this festival
- A few words about the Gypsy people
- some useful links
NB: All the photos were taken during an outdoor edition. This year, 2025, the celebrations will take place indoors.
A few words about Nerja
Nerja is located in Axarquia, in the province of Malaga.
To find out more about the Pearl of the Costa del Sol, click on the link: Nerja. And in the following link you’ll find all the things to do in Nerja.
Note : If you are in the western part of the Costa del Sol and would like to visit Nerja anf Frigiliana, you can use the following link to book a tour from Málaga, Torremolinos, Mijas or Benalmadena.
Dates of this festival
The International Day of the Gypsy People will be celebrated on 4 and 5 April 2025.
The official date for this international celebration is 8 April each year.
The programme 2025 of the celebrations
As every year, the programme prepared by Belén Heredia promises to be marvellous.
Below is a short video of the show:
At the CC Villa de Nerja on Friday 4 April 2025 at 20:00:
International Roma Day Gala :
- Reading of a manifesto and presentation of the gala
- Roma anthem ‘Gelem-Gelem’ sung by Esmeralda Campo
- Flamenco troupe from Jerez
Saturday at 19:00 at the Nerja Museum:
Screening of the documentary film about cinema’s most famous gypsy, Charlie Chaplin, in the presence of several members of his family.
A few words about the gypsy people
This day in Nerja is an opportunity to remember the history of the Gypsy people
April 8 is International Roma Day. This date commemorates the first World Gypsy Congress held in London in 1971. They became a people of Europe in their own right on that day. The only particularity is that this people has a flag and an anthem but no territory, border or country.
Another short video of this celebration in Nerja:
On this day in 1971, the flag and anthem of the gypsies were instituted.
In the following link: listen to “Djelem, djelem”, the anthem of the Roma people
Djelem, Djelem or Dzelem, Dzelem means ‘I walked, I walked’.
Roma people is the official name
This name has its origin in the Sinti language (a language resulting from the mixture of Romanian and German. The romani cel (which gave rise to the name romanichel in the past) and which means the people of Roma.
The history of the Roma people
They are a people who left North India about 1000 years ago and arrived in Europe around the 14th century. They settled in Spain in the 15th century.
In the 20th century, they were also subjected to the atrocities of the Nazi regime and suffered a genocide. This genocide has a name “Samudaripen” which means “total murder” in Romani language. It is estimated that 50% of the Roma people were exterminated.
Roma, gypsy, bohemian
In Europe, the Roma people will go by many names depending on their location:
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- In Eastern Europe, they will be called: Roma
- In Central Europe, they are called : Bohemian
- In Great Britain, they will be called: gipsy
- In Western Europe, it will be called: manouche or sinté
- In Spain and the south of France it is called gitan/gitano.
The Gypsy language is called Calo. It is a mixture of Romance languages.
Some more photos of this wonderful show:
Some useful links
Book accommodation in Nerja
In the surroundings, it is possible to find very nice activities:
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- horse riding, on the beach or in the mountains
- diving in Nerja and Torrox
- guided tours (villages of Axarquia, Cordoba, Alhambra,…)
- via ferrata (Caminito del Rey,…)
- hiking (El Saltillo with the hanging bridge,…)
- canyoning (in the rio Verde,…)
- astrotourism
- snorkeling
- visit of Nerja caves
Use the following link to access all the activities to do in Nerja. during your holidays. This link provides you with all the details of each activity.
Note: here’s a link if, during your stay in Nerja, you’d like to go on a small-group excursion with a local guide: guided tours departing from Nerja.
And finally, here are some other experiences to do Malaga province :
Discover other great places in Andalucia in the Andalucia blog pages.
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