As Wade Kincaid, a wealthy Texas rancher, is out checking water holes on his ranch, he has a chance meeting with a beautiful dancing Gypsy girl, Luana, who makes him momentarily forget his mentally ill wife, Stephanie. This meeting will change their lives forever.When Kincaid invites Luana and her family to stay on his ranch, how could he have known the many struggles that were ahead?
Brian Belton's powerfully original book examines Gypsy lives against the framework of social theories that illustrate how identity arises out of the cultural complexity of individual biographies, families, and communities. Addressing the lack of contextual and social perspectives in the existing literature and the underlying assumption of a consistent Gypsy lineage, he explores the subject of identity to include the broader social context in which the population exists. He argues that Gypsy identity is created and maintained not only by tradition and heredity, but also by social and ideological factors that give rise to the 'ethnic narrative' of Gypsy identity. Growing up in an English Gypsy family, Belton offers a unique 'outsider-insider' perspective to Questioning Gypsy Identity, writing what are essentially stories of people_how they are made, their social force, and what they collectively create.
The book is a documented history of Hungarian-Slovak Gypsies that came to America over 120 years ago, they brought to America the traditional Hungarian Gypsy music they and their ancestors played in Europe for hundreds of years. They are directly linked to Europe's finest Gypsy musicians. From the villages of Hungary, this music was brought to America to make our hearts sing. It is part of world roots music. Piskor tells us, using words and striking photographs, the inside story about his Gypsy family and friends, and warns us of cultural treasures we may be losing. --Professor Steve Balkin, Roosevelt University I encourage you to acquire a book long overdue when concerning American-Hungarian music. Gypsy Violins is a significant historical document for anyone who has danced or listened to a cs rd s or any other Magyar folk music. --Tibor Check Jr. William Penn Life Magazine Congratulations on your new book! Incredibly valuable. --Professor Ian Hancock Ph.D.
The Gypsies portrayed in this book are the Vlax-speaking Rom, the largest group of Gypsies in the United States, numbering 500,000. Not officially recognized as a minority in the U.S. until 1972, Gypsies have led an almost entirely invisible existence here. Now in this fascinating workthe first complete account of American GypsiesSutherland has produced an in-depth look at the full range of everyday social life among the Rom. Separate, elusive, complex, and unique among the people of the world, Gypsies have preserved their traditional way of life. How have they avoided assimilation? What keeps them apart? How are they organized, and what do they believe? These and other important questions about these hidden Americans are addressed in Sutherlands contemporary study.
The last quarter of the twentieth-century saw a renewed interest in the hammered dulcimer in the United States at the grassroots level as well as from elements of the Folk Revival. This book offers the reader a discussion of the medieval origins of the dulcimer and its subsequent spread under many different names to other parts of the world. Drawing on articles the author has written in English as well as articles by specialists in their own languages, Gifford explains the history and evolution of the instrument. Special attention is paid to the North American tradition from the early 18th-century to the 1970s revival. Drawing from local histories, news clippings, photographs, and interviews, the book examines the playing of the dulcimer and its associated social meanings.
This groundbreaking book relates the oral histories of Romanies in the United States. It focuses on the Hungarian-Slovak Romani musical community originally from Delray, Michigan, as well as others from outlying areas in and near Michigan. Originally Romanies came from India and hundreds of years ago traveled to Europe, Latin America, the United States, and, eventually, Michigan. Their stories provide a different voice from the stereotypical, bigoted newspaper articles from Michigan newspapers in the late nineteenth century through today that reflect law enforcement agencies’ prejudices or “racial profiling.” Romanies in Michigan introduces their diverse, rich, resilient history in Michigan, based on oral histories, photographs, newspaper articles, legal documents, and other research. The book explores traditional modes of travel; Romanies’ identity, history, perspective, and challenges with non-Romanies; their feelings as a minority group; and their self-efficacy, respect, and pride in their culture and work.
