Romica Puceanu

Biography

Romica Puceanu (1926-1996) was a Romanian gypsy singer.

Greatly admired by those who knew her singing, she was the unfortunate victim of a number of circumstances which prevented her receiving the acclaim which she deserved. By the 1960s and 1970s she had become in Romania the unrivaled interpreter of the cintec de pahar, that form of urban Romanian Gypsy song, a combination of Turkish and Romanian elements in a unique Gypsy setting. She possessed an exquisite voice and was singer of great sensitivity and depth. Romanian state policy in effect during most of the years during which Puceanu was in her prime, made it difficult for most artists, particularly Gypsies, to be heard abroad.

Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.