Black and White in Colour

Portrait of the Czech Roma singer Vera Bílá, who not only sings beautiful, melancholy gypsy songs, but also possesses a great sense of deadpan humour. ‘I love my man so much that I clipped his toenails with my teeth. Most wives would never do that.‘ Not only her voice is imposing, her whole presence is impressive - her waist measures no less than 143 centimetres. Vera’s band members make countless pranks about her figure and dominant character. For example, one of her colleagues points at a poster with a picture of her and says: ‘Here, she is not talking or thinking, that’s the way I like her best’. Vera does not seem to mind. She prefers to express her emotions in her songs, with sad lyrics like ‘I drink when I am happy / I drink when I am sad / for my life evaporates right before my eyes.‘ Vera Bílá has also made it abroad. In Paris she brings in capacity crowds, although the trip to France - in an old car that gets engine trouble - is in no way indicative of starlike airs. Vera is exceptional and average at the same time. She likes to spend a lot of time behind gambling machines and claims she is on social security, which is why she has incurred so many debts. ‘Sometimes I cry when I’m singing, but even the boys in the band don’t notice it.‘