ROMANIA

Roms from Sibiu and Bucharest

“My grandfather was king of the Roms. Now it’s my uncle. I’ve never been cut out for that type of thing myself: staying at home, marrying someone chosen by my family, having children and staying in the kitchen.” Ana

Abstracts

“'He’s a phony self-proclaimed king!' our Romanian contact in Sibiu warned us. Since my arrival in Romania, I had developed a knack for coming across people who looked down on Roms. I finally got hold of his contact details and the king of the Roms in Sibiu granted us an appointment in his 'palace' at 6 p.m. He welcomed us wearing a singlet, with a bottle of wine in front of him. He introduced us to his niece Cristina who he deemed to be an attractive representative of his community. Cristina chose to be photographed in traditional dress.

Next, the king suggested that we contact Ana, another of his nieces, living in Bucharest, convinced that she would also interest us. I was struck by the contrast when Ana showed up at the door of my hotel room in Bucharest: a tall leggy woman looking every bit the top model that she was, with platinum blond hair, blue contact lenses, a miniskirt and a Dolce & Gabbana belt. As an experienced model, she chose Bamboo, Bucharest’s trendiest club at the time, as a backdrop for her portrait."

Extract from Zoé Zoé, Femmes du mondes, 2007, Éditions Gallimard