Join Ifan Jones Evans and Shân Cothi as they hit the road in a brand new series, Y Sipsiwn (The Gypsies), between 25 and 30 June to follow the old Welsh Romany Gypsy route from Llangrannog in Ceredigion to Rosebush in Pembrokeshire.
The presenters will step back in time to the early years of the twentieth century in a Gypsy caravan known as a 'Varda', designed and crafted locally for the series.
Along the journey, Ifan and Shân will meet people who have Romany heritage as well as discovering more about the period - circa 1900 - with historians Arddun Arwyn and Gari Wyn who examine the history of Welsh Gypsies and Abram Wood's early Welsh Gypsy family. The series will highlight their traditions, music and culture in Wales, Europe and the world and especially the persecution and prejudice they have endured.
Each live programme throughout the week at 8.25pm will coincide with a local c0mmunity event. For more information about the daily events, which include an 'It's a Knockout' competition, Battle of the Bards and a beach party, visit the Caban website - s4c.co.uk/caban.
The series coincides with a month-long celebration in Wales of Romany Gypsy traditions and the lasting effect of the Travellers on life and culture in Wales. This celebration is being led by the Romani Cultural and Arts Company.
The Romany community feel that some TV programmes about Travellers in the past have led to prejudice towards the Gypsy community - and the S4C series and the Romani Cultural and Arts Company events are seen as an opportunity to explain the heritage and way of life in a balanced way.
Isaac Blake, Director of the Romani Cultural and Arts Company said, "Y Sipsiwn is a contemporary series which also looks at the history of the Romany Gypsy tradition and so helps to create an awareness of the background and history as well as the situation of the community today. It will, hopefully, balance out some of the negative media preconceptions and challenge the myths and stereotypes."
Dyfrig Davies, Executive Producer of the S4C series, added, "It's a real privilege to work on the series because it is such an interesting subject. The project has opened my eyes to the extent of the prejudice towards the Gypsy community and I hope to reignite the audiences' memories of the Romany Gypsies and the way that have enriched our culture."
There will be further programmes in the Gypsy season on S4C including documentaries about the history of the Gypsies in Wales, a look at the Romany Gypsy society's present life in Wales and a programme on Romany Gypsy music. There will also be a transmission of the award-winning S4C film Eldra, based on the early life of Romany Eldra Jarman.
