Flamenco dancer is appointed Roma's ambassador to the EU
Barcelona, 9.2.2007, 15:03, (Independent )
In the stuffy confines of the European Parliament, he cut an unlikely figure.
A strutting peacock of a man, Joaquin Cortes is normally to be found stripped to
the waist, dancing Flamenco in front of thousands of mostly female devotees.
This is the dancer who almost single-handedly used his talent - not to
mention his looks - to make Spain's most famous art form a must-see among the
fashionable classes. But, though more used to hearing excited female fans
shouting guapo (handsome), the one-time model for Giorgio Armani now wants to
use his fame for a very different end.
Roma by birth, Cortes has become the new European Union ambassador for his
people, in an effort to end decades of discrimination and xenophobia.
Dressed in more sober attire than normal, the dancer recently addressed MEPs
in Brussels. "The main reason for my presence here is that I am of Roma origin
and I understand that this institution is known as the champion of human rights
in the EU," he said.
"I am one of the rare European Roma to whom fortune has been kind, as I am
able to proudly assert my identity without fear of being persecuted, humiliated
or being made a scapegoat." He added: "We all have to fight for the integration
of the Roma nation, and hope that in the near future a new generation will live
a better life."
An EU report in 2005 on racism and xenophobia stated that: "Roma are often
stereotyped as criminals. The reality is that many Roma are the victims of
crime." Many, particularly women, are marginalised by society, living in an
underclass from which it is hard to break out. An EU resolution last year said
Roma women suffered high levels of exclusion, particularly from access to health
services.
There are now believed to be 14 million Gypsies in Europe, with at least nine
million of those living inside the expanded EU. The largest contingent of two
million live in Romania, but the Roma have perhaps the highest profile in Spain,
thanks in part to Flamenco, the art whose origins are credited to them.
Cortes, who is currently dancing in Moscow for Russia's new super-rich, has
been fighting hard for the recognition of the Roma. He launched his own
campaign, called Stop Anti-Gypsyism, seven years ago. One ambition is to try to
rid the word "Gypsy" of the negative connotations which it sometimes has in the
popular imagination.
He agreed to be the new ambassador for the Roma nation as the EU declared
2007 "the year of equal opportunities for the Roma". He is to head a series of
initiatives to try to get Gypsy artists equal billing with leading singers,
dancers and artists throughout Europe. Away from the arts, the broad initiative
aims to integrate the Roma in society.
His people's cause is close to his heart. Growing up Cordoba, Andalusia in
the 1970s, Cortes watched as many of his contemporaries struggled to find jobs
or often slid back into the murky world of drugs and petty crime.
About 800,000 Gypsies live in Spain, and they have been persecuted for much
of the past 300 years. A series of laws and policies tried to rid them from the
country altogether.
Gypsy settlements were often broken up and the residents dispersed. In some
cases, they were forced to marry non- Gypsies. They were banned from using their
language, which is a mixture of Andalusian Spanish and Romani, and prevented
from taking up public office or joining trade organisations. Under General
Francisco Franco's dictatorship, Gypsies were harassed or their children forced
to attend school. They became a permanent underclass.
Conditions for Spain's Roma have improved considerably in the 30 years since
democracy was re-established, with special state education programmes operating,
and social services becoming more geared to their needs. But recent reports on
Gypsy life have found high numbers are still illiterate and living on the
periphery of Spanish society. Many run their own small companies, dealing within
their own communities. Gypsy-run building firms mark their sites with the blue
and green Roma flag as a warning that if anyone breaks in, they may have to
reckon with reprisals from Gypsy "security".
Huge slum dwellings like Los Tres Mil (The Three Thousand) in Seville and San
Cosme in Barcelona were traditionally used as dumping grounds by local
authorities to separate Gypsies from the rest of the community.
A dancer with Gypsy roots
* Joaquin Cortes is a native of Andalusia, the birthplace of flamenco. He was
born into a Gypsy family in Cordoba on 22 February, 1969.
* The Cortes family moved to Madrid in 1981, where at the age of 12, Cortes
began to take formal dance lessons. He was invited to join the Ballet Nacional
de España in 1984, taking to the stage in venues as diverse as the New York
Opera House and the Kremlin.
* His wild, passionate approach to flamenco earned him worldwide recognition
and controversy. He once said, "In classical ballet they still dance with a nude
torso. Why not in flamenco?"
* In 1992 Cortes founded his own company, "Joaquin Cortes Ballet Flamenco". A
starring role in Pedro Almodovar's 1995 film, La flor de mi secreto, brought him
a new audience, as did Carlos Saura's film, Flamenco, and he regularly tours
worldwide.
By Graham Keeley in Barcelona
Independent
http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article2251355.ece