Read

Read texts A and B on page 97 about the Roma people and the Palenqueros. The paragraphs in each text are in the wrong order. Match the headings in the box (1–4) with the correct paragraph in each text.

 
Click and Drop click on a phrase in the box above and then on the appropriate gap. You can also write in the gaps.
A The Roma People

Many Colombian people do not recognize them as citizens of the country. Roma people are ‘invisible’ Colombians, a minority group that live in poverty. They need health care, better nutrition and education. There are about 5,000 Roma people in Colombia.
 

Roma people are nomads – they travel from one place to another. They are good artists. In their culture singing, dancing and playing musical instruments are very important. The women sometimes sell shoes or kitchen utensils. They are also fortune-tellers.
 

1. Origin and location in Colombia

Roma, or Rom, people arrived in Colombia in the 16th century from European countries such as Spain and Portugal. Rom originally meant ‘men of low class who live on singing and dancing’. They live in Bolívar, Antioquia, Tolima and Nariño.
 

Girls and boys get married when they are teenagers. Roma people don’t value individuality because they belong to a clan. They only learn to read and write. They are bilingual: they speak their native language, Romany, and Spanish.
 

 

B The Palenqueros
 

The women go to Cartagena every day to sell fruit and sweets. They wear colourful clothes that represent the colours of the rainbow, and to show they are happy. Women carry water from casimbas (holes near the river where they store the water). The men often work on farms.
 

The Palenqueros suffer from racial discrimination. Many don’t know how to read or write. They need more support from the government because they don’t have electricity or running water. They live in extreme poverty.
 

They speak Palenquero, a language that combines Spanish and African languages. They have a ritual for the dead called Lumbalú. They don’t cry. They sing, play the marimba and the drums, and dance around the dead person to say goodbye.
 

The Palenqueros are descended from African slaves. Today, the Palenqueros form a group of 3,500 inhabitants of Palenque de San Basilio, which is located in Montes de María, three hours away from Cartagena. In 2005, UNESCO declared San Basilio a ‘masterpiece of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity’.