Bosnian Roma people showcase a national dance during a visit by Bosnia's most popular former rock star, now composer of ethnic music inspired by Roma culture, Goran Bregovic, in Sarajevo, on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2013. Bosnia's most popular musician is searching for talented Roma children to help them get an education in music. On Tuesday, 63-year-old former rock star Goran Bregovic visited Sarajevo's biggest Roma settlement of Gorica. That's the same name he has given his new foundation, which will provide scholarships to Roma kids who wish to study music but can't afford to. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)
December 10, 2013 - 5:43 AM
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina - Bosnia's most popular musician is searching for talented Roma children to help them get an education in music.
On Tuesday, 63-year-old former rock star Goran Bregovic visited Sarajevo's biggest Roma settlement of Gorica. That's the same name he has given his new foundation, which will provide scholarships to Roma kids who wish to study music but can't afford to.
Bregovic has built an international career on film music inspired by traditional Balkan and Gypsy tunes. He says it's time to give something back to this underprivileged group that has inspired so many European composers.
Nearly half of the Roma in Bosnia are illiterate. Most live in makeshift settlements in extreme poverty and operate on the margins of society.
News from © The Associated Press, 2013