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"intermarriage between Romanians and Romani gypsies was (and still is) otherwise very rare."

Would that it were true!

Was--yes, is--no...

An earlier article dealing with the topic, by somebody with whom I am completely unconnected:

https://www.amren.com/features/2017/12/is-romania-part-of-the-west-gypsy/

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I think that this is quite a stupid article by an embittered expat, a common thing that love can do (for so many reasons that I can’t even begin to list — especially the point about Turkish suzerainty and genetic change), but I certainly agree that old barriers are rapidly breaking down nowadays.

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NB: This is the editor, I did not write the article.

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There is of course an easy solution to all this, just not very tasteful or kind by modern standards.

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On re-reading I infer that you are not Romanian. But plainly you know the place *almost* as well as I do...

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STRONG like

You MUST be Romanian no?

The only thing you didn't mention is the 'VIATA MEA!' balladic subgenre.

People underestimate (do they? I think so) the influence this 'culture' had on support for Brexit. The thing is that this music, the aspirations it expresses and the manners and mores of its practitioners are near-hegemonic among Romanians (i.e. not only Gypsies) of a certain class.

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