The sound of La Família Gitana blends flamenco, rumba, and gypsy tradition, while the band members also draw influence from modern beats like rap, pop, reggae, funk, funaná, and even afro house. Each concert is experienced as a ritual of emotional intensity: “When a gypsy sings, he shows everything he feels, without shame in revealing his soul,”says the band’s founder, Ari Monteiro.

La Família Gitana is made up of cousins from various branches of families that settled four generations ago in Bairro do Fim do Mundo. Their roots trace back to Northern Portugal, Ajuda in Lisbon, and Spain. The band’s cultural expression reflects a story of mobility, encounters, and resilience. “It’s a shame that in Spain everyone wants to be gypsy — there’s national pride in the ethnicity — but in Portugal it’s different, there are people who don’t accept their origins. We are proud of who we are and we want to share that.”

In that territory, socially marked by exclusion but culturally fertile, the group was born, following in the footsteps of their elders, who already carried a love for music in their veins. Some of the parents, uncles, and grandparents of La Família Gitana’s members had bands such as Soul Gypsy, which livened up local parties and circuits in the 2000s. Today, the children take up that legacy, transforming it with the fresh energy and irreverence of Generation Z.

For La Família Gitana, being on stage means embracing a role of representation and pride. Their collective dream is to bring gypsy culture to major international stages and assert their voice in the national music scene. Each concert is an opportunity to show that their difference is their strength: “In our culture lies our difference, our value, and our strength.”