Akana me
Akana me: One day, during the artistic drill, David exclaimed: Akana me! and he showed his dance... And thanks to David we had a name for small festivals which we planned to arrange in the Roma settlements: "Akana me!" - "And now me!".
The idea was to give space to everybody who would be interested to show what he or she knows, in the form of participation in a friendly struggle in song, dance or play on a musical instrument. No age limit, unlimited number of participants ... just rely on good weather, because most of our events were held in the open air, directly in Roma settlements. The intention was always to connect several villages and encourage healthy competition, to let them know who is better , and therefore: “Akana me !”, everyone has the opportunity to show skills now.
These moments of a "good will" and good mood brought into the settlements unprecedented distractions, these moments were always warmly welcomed and accepted by the population, and gave us an opportunity to confront with reality of the Roma settlements and show them our art and also show what we are capable of.
Last but not least, it was an opportunity to establish new contacts and acquire new members to the group.
It begans in Rakúsy, soon followed in Stráne pod Tatrami, Kubachy, Jurské... and then we didn´t even count. It has become our tradition and custom, that wherever we are with the group, we tried to go straight to domestic Roma audience, into the settlements, illegal camps for nomads, etc. in order to bring to people, and especially to young people and children, a bit of culture, hope and enthusiasm.
Tradition took place in daily life, and many of our members enter the group this way. And those who didn´t have a chance to be directly involved in activities of the group, even after many years remember when they saw us and this memory always brings smile on their faces...
When a life is full of despair, even an ordinary song can encourage human and bounce back from hopelessness... Festivals "Akana me” are also about this.
