An article in the Slovak press about Lolita Cercel, the AI generated Romani singer.
Lolita Cercel, the AI Romani Singer, managed to make it to the French press. So dit the Council of Europe. The rest is unfrotunately the usual, with Roma having been evicted near Nates in Western France, have nowhere to go. And in another place, Roma are being threatened with eviction.
Lolita Cercel, created virtually with the help of artificial intelligence, is a star in Romania and beyond. Her genre, “Balkan trip-hop”, combines traditional Roma melodies with modern pop, dance and electronic rhythms and has long since become part of the mainstream music scene. But, in addition to fame, she is also the target of critics. “The instrumentalization of Roma culture”, someone called her. According to critics, while real Roma artists are often underestimated, a “virtual, racially charged and dehumanized Roma identity” is suddenly gaining ground.
The Romanian Romani actress and directo Alina Şerban was awarded a prize as young talent in the ‘Gypsy’ Culture Award from the Instituto de Cultura Gitana in Madrid.
An exhibition in France about the five centuries of slavery of Roma in Romanan lands. A slavery that the Romanian church still denies having been involved in…
A reportage on a festival “Rroma” in Romania entirely devoted to Roma culture.
Another one of these articles on Roma palaces, this time in the Ukrainian press about these houses in Romania.
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A singer with artificial intelligence was created in Romania. She is called Lolita and already has thousands of fans and millions of views on social networks, local media reported in their reports on the subject.
The creator of Lolita is a young man from Bacău, who calls himself Tom. He is a visual designer by profession with over ten years of experience in editing photos and videos.
“Lolita sings in Romanian. She is a project that connects the old with the new. A specific violin sound, traditional music performed by Roma orchestras, is mixed with modern instrumental accents. Several styles are intertwined,” explains Tom, who writes the lyrics of the songs.
An article full of stereotypes and folklore… A few excerpts:
In the village of Săpânța, near the Ukrainian border, two women recall: “If a boy was jealous of another, his mother would cast a spell on the girl to make her feel bad and prevent the marriage from taking place.” Next to her, her friend adds: “When my niece left home, we had a falling out. A woman at the market offered to cast a spell on her to bring her back, by the heavens. I refused, of course.”
A documentary from Arte about a village in Romania with a large Nato base.
The Tajsa Prize, which is awarded annually by the European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC) to outstanding Roma cultural figures, was awarded in Bucharest. This year’s award went to visual artist Selma Selman. The ceremony took place in the representative building of the Romanian Athenaeum, attended by distinguished guests, including the first ever Roma Romanian government minister, Petre-Florin Manole.
or 18 years, Jenny Rasche from the Harz Mountains has been dedicated to helping Roma children in Romania, where she now lives. Through her efforts, a slum on the outskirts of Sibiu has been completely transformed; Roma children without prospects have grown into young adults with a future. For her work, this dynamic woman was honored with the Kindernothilfe (Children in Need) Honorary Award on November 14, 2025. Reporter Antje Schneider also closely documented this work for years in the MDR series “Jenny and the Roma Children,” which can be viewed in the ARD Mediathek (ARD Media Library).
Prof. Christian Padure is planning an international Romanes Olympiad for Romanes open to youngsters between 11 and 17. This will take place in Romania.
Tudor Lakatos is fighting discrimination against Roma, one Elvis Presley song at a time. He says: “I never wanted to get on stage, I didn’t think about it,” Lakatos, 58, said after a recent gig at a restaurant in the capital, Bucharest. “I only wanted one thing — to make friends with Romanians, to stop being called a Gypsy,″ he added, using an often derided term for Roma.
The dialogue between the Roma Foundation for Europe network and the newly elected President of Romania, Mr. Nicușor Dan, marked a historic moment, one in which the Roma community is not seen as an object of aid, but as an equal partner in building a European future. The delegation of Roma representatives was led by Željko Jovanović, Director of the Roma Foundation for Europe, a leader whose work has been pushing the boundaries of what is possible for decades when it comes to rights, security and dignity.
An article in the French le Monde on the nomination of the first openly Roma minister in the Romanian government. His name is Petre-Florin Manole, social democrat and minister of work.
The appointment of Florin Manole as Minister of Labour is not just a first. It is a fracture in the status quo of a Romania accustomed to keeping the Roma in the invisible corner of democracy, writes human rights activist Ciprian Necula, in an opinion piece hosted by HotNews. It is no coincidence, he says, that the first Rom becomes a minister under duress, in a government bound by an imperative reform agenda.
In Satu Mare, an association uses chess to integrate Roma. They speak about a young Romni, Adriana Pascu, 16 years old and a good chess player.
Threats to the Roma minority have increased since the far-right won the presidential election, which was cancelled at the end of 2024. But on the second round on Sunday, May 18, many Roma are paradoxically ready to vote for these ultranationalist candidates.
Soldiers. A Story from Ferentari was only published in Czech this year. It tells the autobiographical story of a famous anthropologist Adrian, who is writing a dissertation on Romani music and moves into the Bucharest ghetto of Ferentari. There, former Romani prisoner Alberto becomes his guide, and the mismatched pair eventually becomes a couple facing the surprising twists and turns of an unexpected intimate relationship.
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