The

Romani people The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic Itinerant groups in Europe, itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have Ro ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

are known by non-Romani Brazilians as (), or alternatively by terms such as , (in

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literall ...

) and (in Minas Gerais and

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaW ...

), in various degrees of accuracy of use and etymology as well as linguistic prestige. As implied by some of their most common local names, most Brazilian Romani belong to the Iberian Kale group, like their fellow lusophone Portuguese , and the Spanish Romani people, known as .

History

A 2012 government report indicates that they arrived in Brazil in the second half of the 16th century, after being expelled from Portugal. They were sentenced to prison in Portugal, requested to be exiled instead, and were ultimately sent to Brazil (some were first sent to Africa). The report also indicates that most Romani men in Brazil today "live from trade and the women engage in palm reading". At one time, they traded horses but now, deal in used cars and other goods.

Demographics

The 2010 census data indicates a population of 800,000 , or 0.4% of Brazil's population; there are concerns in Brazil about lack of public policy directed at this segment of the population. The Special Secretariat for the Promotion of Racial Equality estimates the number of in Brazil at 800,000 (2011). Many still speak the Romani language. A 2015 report by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

stated that the Roma (Cigano) community who seemed to be "highly invisible" in Brazil. "They are still largely stereotyped ��as thieves, beggars or fortune tellers." The 2010

IBGE The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics ( pt, Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística; IBGE) is the agency responsible for official collection of statistical, geographic, cartographic, geodetic and environmental informat ...

Brazilian National Census encountered Romani camps in 291 of Brazil's 5,565 municipalities. It is the second largest Romani population in the world, after the United States. The first Brazilian president (1956–1961) of direct non-Portuguese Romani origin was

Juscelino Kubitschek Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira (; 12 September 1902 – 22 August 1976), also known by his initials JK, was a prominent Brazilian politician who served as the 21st president of Brazil from 1956 to 1961. His term was marked by economic prosp ...

, 50% Czech Romani by his mother's bloodline. His term was marked by economic prosperity and political stability, being most known by the construction of Brazil's new capital,

Brasília Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...

. Nevertheless, Brazil already had a president of Portuguese Kale ancestry before Juscelino's term,

Washington Luís Washington Luís Pereira de Sousa (; 26 October 1869 – 4 August 1957) was a Brazilian politician who served as the 13th president of Brazil. Elected governor of São Paulo state in 1920 and president of Brazil in 1926, Washington Luís belonge ...

who was trained as Lawyer became a career politician, and later focused on historical studies in Brazil.

References

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