Andy and I only heard about it because we happened to be in Switzerland the week before the festival, and when a friend mentioned it we pulled out all the stops to be able to come. Beginning, as it did, after the Koprivshtitsa festival in Bulgaria, I expected to see hordes of North American folk enthusiasts stopping off on their way home. But maybe nobody over there knew about it either. The other major drawback of the festival was that it was hard to find out who was actually appearing, for the simple reason that nobody seemed to know. This happening, in a nightclub converted from the old stables on the edge of town, brought us a wealth of virtuoso performers singing, dancing and partying simultaneously indoors and outdoors.
Gypsies still travel a great deal, mainly between France, Italy, and Germany.
Other Manouche musicians included Los Canasteros and Tekameli, both from Perpignan. Tekameli, composed of members of the Espinas family, combine voices, guitars, and palmas in the particular style of irresistible rumba characteristic of Catalan Gitans. Among the several flamenco artists from northern Spain, the most exquisite pleasure came from listening to El Nino Josele, an astonishing young guitarist. Most of the musicians only played a short set, but luckily, they all played again the following afternoon at the opening of an exhibition titled 'Gypsy Families and their Music', put together by Denis Mercier. Mercier was the cinematographer for Latcho Drom , and he created a lush and loving testimony to the Roma, hanging the walls richly with images, textiles and objects from daily Gypsy life, and drawing on many of his images from the film.