Balkan Romani Music Festival Returns Today

Voice of Roma, a human rights advocacy organization dedicated to the promotion of Romani (Gypsy) cultural arts and traditions, is proud to announce the 18th annual Herdeljezi Balkan Romani Music Festival, today, May 2 in San Francisco.

This year's festival will culminate in a dance party led by the high-octane Sazet Band from New York. Events earlier in the day include separate workshops for singers and instrumentalists led by members of Sazet Band, a dance workshop taught by Kosovo Romani activist and dance researcher Sani Rifati, and a panel discussion on Romani culture, music, history and human rights led by Rifati and Carol Silverman, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Oregon.

"Herdeljezi" is the name for the Romani spring holiday of renewal and fertility. Just so, the Herdeljezi Festival seeks to renew interest and attention on the continued struggles of Romani people around the world, striving to counter negative Gypsy stereotypes and supporting efforts by Roma to rebuild and maintain their communities, improve their lives and strengthen their international voice and visibility.

"Few Americans know that one million Roma reside in America today, that Roma are the largest minority in Europe today and that Roma have a rich and varied culture in spite of centuries of discrimination," says Silverman. "Furthermore, festivals of 'Gypsy Music' are often stereotypical fantasies geared toward exoticism. Voice of Roma's Herdeljezi Festival, on the other hand, places the music in its cultural and historical context."

This year's Herdeljezi Festival is the sequel to a two-day conference at New York University titled Beyond Gypsy Stereotypes: Voicing Romani Pluralities, April 24-25. Bringing together academics, activists and performers, day one of the conference will conclude with a dance party led by Sazet Band and dance workshops led by Rifati. The conference at NYU is organized by the Initiative for Romani Music in conjunction with the Center for Traditional Music and Dance and Voice of Roma.

Sazet Band, an eight-piece Romani band from New York City comprised of musicians from Macedonia, was formed in 2011 under the leadership of clarinetist Sal Mamudoski and saxophonist Romeo Kurtali. The band performs what it describes as a "New York City-style" of Romani music: traditional folk music from the Balkans mixed with influences from classical, jazz, funk, and fusion styles of Western music. Sazet Band performs frequently for weddings and other community celebrations, and has appeared as part of the annual New York Gypsy Festival and at Golden Festival, New York's largest Balkan music event.

Rifati is a Rom from Kosovo who immigrated to the United States in 1993, co-founding Voice of Roma three years later. Rifati has taught at many international dance camps and festivals. Panelist and Voice of Roma Board Member Silverman is an activist and scholar of Romani music in Eastern Europe. Her book Romani Routes: Cultural Politics and Balkan Music in Diaspora (2012) won the book prize from the Society for Ethnomusicology. The Herdeljezi Festival takes place this year at the Croatian American Cultural Center in the Balboa Park neighborhood of San Francisco. The event begins with a singing workshop at 3pm led by Ferdi Demir of Sazet Band. At 4:30pm other members of the band will conduct a Romani instrumental workshop. Each workshop costs $20 in advance. A free panel discussion led by Rifati and Silverman begins at 6:15pm. The Festival concludes with a dance workshop with Rifati at 7:30pm and Sazet Band's dance party at 8:30pm. Tickets for the evening dance party are priced at $20 (advance) and $25 (at the door), and include admission to the dance workshop. Workshop reservations as well as a $60 Festival Pass for all events may be purchased online at Brown Paper Tickets or by calling 800-838-3006. For more information visit VoiceofRoma.com