This Sunday commemorates the 600th anniversary of the arrival of the gypsy people to the Iberian Peninsulawhich, six centuries later, demands the “commitment” of the high institutions and powers of the State to “advance” in their “equality and recognition”also coinciding with the declaration, by the Government, of 2025 as the Year of the Gypsy People.
This was claimed by the Secretariado Gitano Foundation (FSG) in a statement in which it celebrated said proclamation. However, he regretted that, despite the fact that the gypsy people form an “essential” part of the “cultural melting pot” that makes up Spanish society, the “profound ignorance” about him and his “diversity”identity, history and culture” is “at the basis of anti-gypsy rejection and discrimination.”
“The knowledge we have of our people and our culture continues based on generalizationsnegative stereotypes and prejudices due, in large part, to the fact that the history and culture of the Gypsy people remain absent from the educational curriculum and classrooms,” he denounced. At the same time, he pointed out that “after centuries of persecution, invisibility or attempts at assimilation “, said community “deserves” its “role” in the “construction” of the country to be “recognised” and its “history and culture” to be “valued.”
In this sense, the general director of the FSG, Sara Gimenezwarned that “it is the time to do justice to the gypsy people and repair their dignity.” “It is time to place it on the same symbolic and institutional level as that of the rest of the communities, peoples or nationalities that make up the diversity and plurality of Spain today,” he added.
Regarding the “many pending challenges”, the foundation criticized that Gypsies are “poorer”, have an educational level “much lower than the average” which “conditions” their future, and carry “the weight of a negative social image”. and suffer “more discrimination, especially women. Furthermore, they are “systematically outside the public sphere and spaces of power”, a reality that demanded a “decisive response”.
600th anniversary
“We aspire to be present in our Constitution when the time comes to update it; We want a firm guarantee of our individual rights, equal opportunities and equal treatment, but we also demand the recognition, protection and defense of our collective rights as a minority, which involve preserving and promoting our cultural heritage: our history and culture, our symbols of identity,” added Giménez on the occasion of this 600th anniversary.
Along the same lines, he stated that gypsies do not have to “resign themselves to being always on the lowest rung of society“and, therefore, he assured that “more ambitious and sustained investments and public policies are needed” that allow them “to access decent employment, combat school failure and segregation, or eradicate shantytowns.”
At the same time, he demanded “a greater commitment against antigypsyism“, “firm” institutional and legal responses to cases of discrimination and hate speech and “the necessary support” so that victims “take the step to report and find reparation for their dignity”, in addition to the “effective” incorporation of gypsy history and culture in the educational curriculum, among other requests.
“This 600th anniversary must be a opportunity to meet the gypsy people”said Giménez, while wanting to “invite society as a whole” to “celebrate together these 600 years of a shared history.”
As recalled by the FSG, on January 12, 1425, King Alfonso V of Aragon granted John, Count of Egypt Minora safe conduct permit that authorized him to travel freely on his pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela and, since then, the gypsy people have been present in the Iberian Peninsula “contributing their rich artistic expression, their lexicon, art, gastronomy and crafts.”
Year of the gypsy people
In this context, the Council of Ministers approved at its meeting this Tuesday an institutional declaration on the occasion of the 600th anniversary of the arrival of the Roma people to the country and declared 2025 as Year of the Gypsy People with the aim of “ensuring a more equitable and fair future” for him and, “therefore, for all of Spanish society.”
The institutional declaration, presented by the Minister of Social Rights, Consumption and Agenda 2030, Pablo Bustinduypoints out that it is an action whose purpose is to This “milestone” represents “a historic opportunity” to “recognize and celebrate” the deep cultural, social and linguistic imprint that the Roma people have left on our nation. In addition, it is an opportunity to “recognize the historical and current injustices they face”, while defending that This is “an unavoidable step” in the objective of guaranteeing a life of equality and freedom for these people.
In parallel, the declaration emphasizes “the exclusion, persecution and discrimination” that the Gypsy people in Spain suffer and have suffered, which is why, as explained in the text, the Government assumes this anniversary not only as an act of historical memory, but as an institutional commitment to “combat inequalities that still persist.”
In this regard, the Executive recalls that Roma people continue facing “significant barriers” in “key” areas such as education, employment, housing and health and that “structural discrimination and prejudices not only limit their opportunities, but perpetuate social and economic exclusion”, aware that “these inequalities are the result of centuries of rejection, racism, discrimination and marginalization.
Countless adversities
This statement also reviews the “innumerable adversities” that Roma people have faced during these centuries in the country, among which are mentioned expulsions, discriminatory legislation, stigmatization or lack of recognition. Thus, it is emphasized that, “despite this”, the gypsy people “have shown a great capacity for resilience and adaptationkeeping its cultural identity alive and enriching the development of Spain”.
Coinciding with this anniversary, in the declaration, also signed by the Ministries of Labor and Social Economy; Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory; Inclusion, Social Security and Migrations; Equality, and Youth and Childhood, which appear as co-proponents, the Memory and Reconciliation Commission with the Gypsy People is valued. This was put in place by the Government in 2024 and will prepare a report that provides measures to apply to the Roma community “the principles of truth, justice, reparation and non-repetition“.
At this point, Minister Pablo Bustinduy asserted that said declaration seeks “recognize deep structural inequalities that continue to affect the daily life of the gypsy communities in Spain.” He also specified that the Executive has “committed” to “deepen” both the “recognition” of the role that the gypsy people play in the history of the country, as well as the “strengthening” of public policies to “remove all the obstacles and inequalities that continue to affect them on a daily basis.”
“The message we send today is very clear: in the face of inequalities, only public policies can generate a more cohesive, fairer, more egalitarian society”he added. Furthermore, he indicated that, to “commemorate” the “historical milestone” that is celebrated this Sunday, the official declaration that proclaims 2025 as the Year of the Gypsy People thus recognizes its “immense cultural and social contribution throughout our history.”
It is not a simple gesture
For Bustinduy, this recognition “is not a simple gesture”, given that Roma people “continue to suffer discrimination and exclusion.” “Therefore, we reaffirm our commitment to put an end to these injustices, combat stereotypes and ensure equality of opportunities effectively for everyone,” he stated, while expressing the Government’s “firmness” in its “commitment to a fairer, more inclusive country that is proud of its plurality.”
On the occasion of this commemoration, the minister held a meeting this week with the Secretariado Gitano Foundation and with the Permanent Commission of the State Council of the Gypsy People (CEPG), whose second vice president, Carmen Santiago, valued the 2025 declaration “very positively” as Year of the Gypsy People. This considered that this anniversary represents “an opportunity” to “continue fighting to achieve that equality that the Roma people still need” and “make visible the challenges that we still have to face”.
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