Ladislav Mirga

Just imagine, the Romas from Letanovce have moved over here. This is where I built my house. Sometimes I meet them, show them around and talk to them. Some of them are even well-off. They work somewhere in England or even in here. Some are even running businesses and you can see it. Their houses are well-equipped and they have cars. Things they never had in possession before. The got inspired from us. These are things they were missing over there [their native place]. Initially they were not allowed to be in the village. Nobody would let them be here. Nobody would help them.

It was a horrible mistake to let them move here. It was a dirty trick from the white inhabitants of Letanovce to send them over here. I know they have properties in here but we all protested, the whole village. It could have been organized somewhere else. If they have some respect and if they believe in God, they didn't have to force it so much. They are of no help. Sometimes they come to ask, whether they could cut some wood or something else. They come to offer their services. Almost everyone in here has a boy among them who he hires for small jobs. But we feel ashamed when they come here, also because there are tourists crossing on the way to Hrabušice or Slovak Paradise (national park), so when they see them, they think of them as of 'the black gypsies from Spišský Štvrtok'.

Gott sang with Gondolán. I saw them both in Prague. Gondolán used to come to boarding-house and play violin. One of us, a boy from Machalovce played violin as well but only using his little finger because his other fingers were cut off. It made Gondolán cry. He couldn't believe someone could play so good with one finger. Even Karol Gott came once. He was amazed when he heard our boys sing. One of the boys sang very well, Karol Gott couldn't believe it. He was astonished. The boy was very gifted, without any training.