Batxalé !
(Hello Hello !)
This video is so full of life, just like the children I met this year with the classe Niglo. On the video some Hungarian singers, below on the pics some Roma People of Romania and Albania. The sons of the wind have been put inside borders, but they still keep their language and traditions !
Tuesday was our last day at classe Niglo. Like in a "real" school, the teachers Yves and Odile prepared painting sessions and cake parties. Can you imagine it's the only school in the world where children cry the day of summer holidays ?
About fifteen children ran to us laughing. Some knew Yves and Odile in some other places which they've been evicted of. I recognise two little brothers, Elisei and Janou, I met them last year in Vaux-en-Velin. Elisei went to school, he speaks really good french.
Yves and Odile ask children to form three groups. The little ones on a cover, full of tempera and graphic splashes. It's the little Janou who's taking the pincel in Odile's hands on the picture.
The eldest ones like Elisei or Yosef seat around a table and realise beautiful paintings which dry up in the sun.
The third group, made out of 6-8 years old, draw with graphite pencils some forms I show them slowly. Yaco wants to draw a dog, Sherban a truck. I show them the "ears" and the "wheels", the "back" and the "trailer", hop a bit of words to learn drawing !
After that we put on the colors. They tell proudly "yellow", "blue" or "green" in french when the painting sets appear, without any mistake, just a nice singing accent. I only learnt "calo" which means black in Romani, incredible for such colourful people !
Maria and Samuela ask me to draw a "tradafiro". I don't have any idea of what it is but they insist smiling with their big shiny eyes... I don't speak Romani ! At last Samuela runs and comes back triumphant with a bindweed flower : "tradafiro", perfect flower for the children of the field...
In the end children get their painting. Below Samuela shows you her drawing full of colours, just like her.
And now fiesta ! Cakes party ! I made two great cakes with apples of a local farmer. Volunteers and teachers brought many cakes and sweets and drinks... and above all cooooola ! A real party !
So now I'm nostalgic just like them : it's summertime holidays, can't wait for september !!!
In the morning, we also had a cake with Albanian children. We were near a squat, this lady in green asked me to take a picture of her with her friend and baby. "Thank you so much for the cake, great moment, it's so hard here you know !"
Soon I'll post here my drawings of gipsy pilgrimage. Meanwhile I post a nice piece of gipsy punk : Gogol Bordello, who sings punk in Romani with Madonna. The pop star defends Roma people. Beware, this video will make you dance !
I really love to hear them playing the violon in a punk way shouting "Mishto !" just like the guys when they score at football !
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