Alma gitana

Granted, this is not a first-rate movie, as one of the other reviewers suggests, but it IS worthwhile with much value for anyone interested in contemporary Spanish society and, particularly, in gitanos and the role and importance of flamenco to their community. Romantic attraction between individuals from "majority" and "minority" communities is, of course, an age-old theme, one that gains new meaning in contemporary social contexts, given migratory patterns and the current pressures of global capitalism. The challenges that Lucía faces in this movie as she seeks to reconcile her own cultural values with her attraction to a payo (non Gypsy) are authentic and well-scripted. The love story that unfolds is certainly overstated and melodramatic in many ways, but not the cultural issues that come to play. And the music and dance is, in fact, first-rate.