Georges Bizet’s famous opera Carmen tells the story of the eponymous gypsy woman, depicted as being impulsive and with an eye on smuggling. Taking this perpetuated stereotype into account, we visit a group of Spanish gypsy women who are claiming their own space.
Vasco Araújo lays the opera Carmen, by the French composer Georges Bizet, on a marble table and dissects it with the help of a group of Spanish gypsy women, including the lawyer and activist Pastora Filigrana, one of the central figures in the film Nueve Sevillas, winner of the IndieMusic prize in 2021. What we are offered is a master class that reflects on the figure of Carmen, in the light of contemporary feminist thought and consequently the role of gypsy women in society. These are speeches of an impressive clarity, coherence and lucidity, at the antipodes of a pamphlet discourse, served by a very simple and effective formal device that focuses attention on the word. It is essential to listen to this film. (Carlos Ramos)
