Barcelona closes the events marking 600 years of the Pueblo Gitano with an emotional walk and new commitments

Barcelona bids farewell to the 600 years of the Pueblo Gitano with a special walk. The City Council announces a new local plan through to 2030. Key figures are recognised and a commitment to equality is made. Find out how the city is promoting Gitano culture.

Barcelona has brought the commemoration of 600 years since the arrival of the Pueblo Gitano on the peninsula to a close with a symbolic walk and an institutional event at the City Hall. More than a hundred people, many dressed in traditional clothing, walked from the Plaça de l’Àngel to the Saló de Cent, where the closing event was held with the presence of Mayor Jaume Collboni.

During the ceremony, the second deputy mayor, Maria Eugènia Gay, and the commissioner for Participación Ciudadana, Pedro Aguilera, welcomed attendees. One of the highlights was the recognition of people who have fought for the rights and visibility of the Pueblo Gitano in the city.

Mayor Collboni took the opportunity to announce a new Medida de Gobierno: the Pla Local del Poble Gitano de Barcelona 2026–2030. As he explained, this plan has been agreed with the Consell Municipal del Poble Gitano and various municipal departments, with the aim of combating antigypsyism, promoting Gitano culture, and advancing towards real equality of rights.

The event included a round table on the future of the Pueblo Gitano from a female perspective and a musical performance by artists such as La Tana, Falete Perona, Mariano Santiago, Antonio Fernández y Joni Cortés, with an interpretation in Romanó by Perseo Cizmic, director of Kher.

The declaration of 2025 as the Año del Pueblo Gitano, promoted by the Gobierno de España, has served to recognise the cultural, social, and linguistic legacy of this community in Barcelona and throughout the country. The city joined the initiative with an institutional declaration inviting reflection on the historical and current challenges faced by the Pueblo Gitano.

In November last year, the Taula Interdepartamental del Poble Gitano was created, a new municipal coordination space to ensure the cross-cutting implementation of public policies aimed at this community. The forum includes the participation of various areas and departments of the City Council, as well as representatives of the Consell Municipal del Poble Gitano.