Amari Ruža

Having fled Hungary as a child, the singer Ruža Nikolić-Lakatos became the most prominent voice of the Lovara Romani in Vienna. Her concerts brought together what would otherwise have remained separate: Romani people from different groups and non-Romani people, united through her music. In 2011, the Lovara song tradition was recognised as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage – a nomination Ruža had submitted. Accompanied by an ensemble and live music, Simonida Selimović traces the footsteps of this extraordinary life: what does Ruža’s legacy sound like today? What does her music mean to the Viennese Romani community – and what place does it hold in the city’s collective memory?