Celebrate The International Roma Day with ARA ART
We stick together - L´ikeras peha! On Thursday, April 8, we will once again commemorate International Roma Day. The celebration directed by ARA ART will take place online for the second time.
ARA ART organizes the celebration of International Roma Day for the seventh time this year with the theme We stick together - L´ikeras peha. Last year, one of the most important Roma holidays occurred when we experienced the end of public life connected with the then-emerging pandemic. At the time, we believed that we would meet at least "live" in the autumn, and if not, we would enjoy the celebrations and other cultural events all the more the following season. However, it turned out that such a degree of optimism was out of place.
The second year in the row, spectators can enjoy the celebrations in the comfort of their homes in front of screens. We will prepare a gala evening with one invited music guest (band) for each of the three days of celebration. However, we will not only play and sing, but we will also talk a lot. "We have prepared a series of three concert talk shows for this year. We planned everything down to the smallest detail so that the celebrations can take place. At the same time, we were able to comply with strict security measures. That's why we changed the format and dramatically reduced the number of performers and members of the implementation team, " David Tišer, director of Ara Art and director of all three gala evenings and their online streaming, explains.
On Wednesday, April 7, the audience will enjoy a concert and talk with members of the Lače Manuša music group led by frontman, founder, and great gypsy jazz guitarist Tibor Žida and singer Pavlína Matiová. On Thursday, April 8, which is the main holiday, the band Bachtale Apsa will perform. Bachtale Apsa´s most significant figure is the famous Romani accordionist Mário Bihári. Besides musicians, the audience can also look forward to a special guest, who is Mário Bihári's long-time friend and artistic collaborator Bára Hrzánová. On Friday, April 9, the series of festive online evenings will end with a popular entertainment band, Pefek Band. Each evening will be accompanied by an experienced moderator and great musician Vojta Lavička and his sister Claudia Laburdová. "Entry into the area where we will stream will be allowed only with a negative test. The test will be done at our expense by medical staff directly before entering the theater. We will test again every day. Together with the observance of the principle of three R's, we want to eliminate the possible risk of virus transmission, " Tišer explains.
Besides the main evenings, two non-musical events are prepared for the audience as an accompanying program on Wednesday and Thursday. On Wednesday, April 7, there will be a debate on Romani literature from 6 pm, sponsored by the Kher publishing house. The hosts of the debate are editor Lenka Jandáková and one of the tribal authors, Stanislava Ondová. On Thursday, April 8, from 5 pm, a cooking show by a Romani fashion designer, artist, and chef, who shone last year on the reality TV show Master Chef, Pavel Berky, will be prepared for The International Roma Day viewers online. In addition to the Ara Art Facebook page, his performance will also be streamed on the Facebook page Romani-Czech goodies followed by almost 70 thousand people.
"Of course, we would instead celebrate our holiday as we are used to - singing, music, and dancing in a large company of people. But we just don't want to cry that it's not possible to organize; we’d instead actively look for all possible ways to be together and support each other. We believe that it is the right time when we all have to stick together. When we do that, these online celebrations can be the last, and we will see each other in person at all the others, "Tišer says.
