Món gitano de Colita

“Món gitano” is the first photographic work Colita undertook professionally, dating from the years 1962–1963.

This series is the first photographic work Colita undertook professionally. The commission came through her friend and mentor Paco Rebés, with the aim of finding Romani extras for the film Los Tarantos, directed by Francisco Rovira Beleta. The photographs cover the shantytowns of Montjuïc and Somorrostro, two very different areas of the city: Somorrostro, by the sea, and Montjuïc, with its steep streets on the mountainside.

The images show the inhabitants of the shantytowns in their everyday lives, with play, celebration, dance and song as part of the daily routine. Among those photographed are the dancer La Singla and the singer José Menese, who would in later years be recognised as major figures of flamenco. A significant part of the collection is devoted to boys and girls, whose gazes and faces appear in their games, in flamenco celebrations and on their outings into the city.

Colita established a direct relationship with those who lived in the shantytowns, who pose with complete naturalness. Although she was young at the time, the collection works as a graphic study documenting how flamenco was born in the Romani shantytowns of Barcelona.