« A Quarter Gypsy ». Métissage, Integration and Citizenship in Jerez
Spanish Gypsies form a cultural minority of mixed descent who were forcibly assimilated until the end of the 18th century. Mutual borrowings define their relations with the Spanish society. In Jerez, a Spanish city recognized for its high concentration of Gypsies, the multiple origins of the majority population has influenced the « integration » of Gypsies and the discourse on mixed identities (entreverado is the vernacular expression). The social composition of Jerez hinders in fact the recognition of Gypsy cultural identity in favour of a more general hybrid kind of identity and identification as citizens. Métissage and the many mutual borrowings make the recognition of a specific Gypsy identity more complex, whether mixed or not. Responding to a search for the exotic at home and in order to compensate for the forced « forgetting » of this cultural heritage, « blood » is divided up, emphasizing some lineages depending on context. As in colonial contexts, the discourse on blood is used to validate personal and collective identities. This paper roots the variations and modalities of métissage in its cultural, social, political and citizen contexts by exploring the experiences and discourses on Gypsyhood and Gypsyism.