los gitanos

from: http://www.goodmagic.com/carny/gypsies.htm

"What the general public knows about Gypsies (aside from the caricature portrayed by popular media) comes from sociological studies of the Rom, Gypsies from Serbia, Russia, and Austria-Hungary. There are several other groups of Gypsies, and most of them refer to themselves by the names of their particular tribe, but also identify as "Rom" or "Roma" or as "Gypsy." Considered by language, Roma are divided into three groups: the Domi of the Middle East and Eastern Europe, the Lom of Central Europe, and the Rom (or Romani) of Western Europe. Over the centuries, through their wanderings, they split into numerous branches: four main tribes (the Kalderash, the Machavaya, the Lovari, and the Churari) and subgroups including the Romanichal, the Gitanos (Spanish cliffside-cave-dwelling Gypsies who gave the world flamenco music), the Sinti, the Rudari, the Manush, the Boyash, the Ungaritza, the Luri, the Bashaldé, the Romungro, and the Xoraxai."

Spain has its own problem with illegal immigration. There are daily arrivals of small boats called pateras filled with sub-Saharan Africans attempting to enter the European Union through the Canary Islands. As a result of the treacherous voyage in boats that are barely sea worthy, there are many deaths at sea, and bodies that wash up on the beaches. Spanish immigration (this time to Spain, not to northern Europe as was the case of Spaniards seeking employment not so many years ago) consists mostly of North Africans, South Americans--primarily from the Andean countries, and East Europeans from Romania and Bulgaria. Many gypsies come to Spain from Romania because of the large gypsy population in Spain, but these two groups have little in common, and are being resented because the Romanian gypsies have not integrated into Spanish society and are bringing the attention of the police onto domestic gypsies for their illegal activities. See also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gitanos

Are there gypsies in the US? Yes, primarily in South Carolina, where they are called Irish travellers, and are involved in home repair swindles. See also: http://www.rickross.com/reference/irish_travelers/irish_travelers10.html