<p>Few cultures have been as demonized and romanticized as the Gypsies, but the New York Gypsy Festival focuses on their spirit as embodied in their soulful, exuberant music.</p>

<p>This year’s festival, taking place from Saturday to Sept. 30, features one of the bands that helped sparked today’s interest in Gypsy, or Rom, music: Fanfare Ciocarlia of Romania. The brass band, known for its hyper-propulsive playing, was “discovered” by a German sound engineer, Henry Ernst, while he was traveling through Eastern Europe in 1996.</p>

<p>A gas station attendant told him about some Gypsy musicians, from the nearby town of Zece Prajini, who played at weddings. Once in the northeastern Romanian town, Ernst asked around and soon was surrounded by 20 enthusiastic players.</p>

<p>“I thought I’d stay an hour,” Ernst says. “But I stayed three months.”</p>

<p>In the weeks that followed, Ernst watched jam sessions and two-day weddings. He decided that the rest of Europe needed to hear these villagers, who didn’t even have a name.</p>

<p>“We had long discussions about possible names,” says the band’s Oprica Ivancea. “There were hundreds of suggestions and several liters of vodka flowed down our throats until we all agreed on ciocarlia, (meaning) skylark. In the end, we found the skylark is a perfect description for the virtuosity and diversity of our repertoire, and, at the same time, the name brings a little humor into the game: The wolves come as skylarks!”</p>

<p>Though Ernst knew nothing about the business, he pulled together a 10-city tour in Germany and France, and Fanfare Ciocarlia quickly grew a cult following.</p>

<p>“In the beginning, it was a bit strange for us,” Ivancea says. “We always did music two days long at weddings and now we should play ‘only’ two hours to present our entire repertoire? But we got used to it and accepted it with a smile. Just warmed up — and the concert is already over.</p>

<p>“On the other hand, we had a whole new experience: We were, in our previous life, just simple musicians who provided wedding parties with local music — not less and not more. Now, we are called artists and we are respected and loved.”</p>

<p>Sixteen years later, the members are still grateful and more than a little incredulous. “This is really crazy and cool!” Ivancea says. “Let’s put it simply: We want the time not to be undone!”</p>

<p>In America, where the Rom are not on most people’s radar, a Gypsy festival celebrates a culture that is so exotic that it may seem unreal. Organizer Mehmet Dede says the festival also teaches about Romani culture through lectures; and that it celebrates “the Gypsy spirit,” even if some of the performers are not of Rom heritage.</p>

<p>Wade Schuman, of New York-based Hazmat Modine, says the festival also celebrates a generation of musicians who have created an American music influenced by the “emotional expression and sensibility of Gypsy music.” He compared the influence of Ciocarlia and other Gypsy performers to the impact African-American musicians had on 1960s rock.</p>

<p>“After the wall came down, there was a flood of music from Eastern Europe,” Schuman says. “This, along with African music, has been one of the seminal influences for a lot of people in my generation. … You see it specifically in the use of brass and acoustic instruments in a lot of indie pop music.”</p>

<p>Social acceptance for the Gypsies, however, has been much slower in coming.</p>

<p>It is generally acknowledged that the Roma came from India; some settling in Eastern Europe and some in Spain. As outsiders, the Roma were often viewed with suspicion and hostility. They were murdered by the Nazis, but have also been treated as second-class citizens, undergoing everything from forced sterilization to segregation from schools.</p>

<p>“Racism we still meet and feel every day in Romania, as well as abroad,” says Costica Trifan of Ciocarlia. “The prejudices are large and hundreds of years old. If somebody thinks we have contributed with our music and our fame a bit to break down the stereotypes — we are happy.”</p>

<p>The eighth annual New York Gypsy Festival takes place Saturday through Sept. 30 at Drom, 85 Avenue A (between Fifth and Sixth streets), except for the Sept. 22 Fanfare Ciocarlia concert, scheduled for the Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts, 3 Spruce St. Tickets are $10 to $15 per event, except for the Fanfare Ciocarlia concert, which is $35; $45 festival tickets include admission to all Drom concerts. Visit nygypsyfest.com. Here is the schedule: Saturday, 7 p.m.: Hazmat Modine combines harmonica-led blues with elements of music from around the world. The Sway Machinery is a collective of rock musicians remaking Eastern European Jewish music. Sunday, 4 p.m.: Romani Dance Party benefiting the annual Golden Festival, with the Zlatne Uste (above), Raya, Veveritse, Sazet and Romski Boji brass bands. Sept. 18, 4 p.m.: Screening of the movie “A People Uncounted” and lecture by New York University professor Petra Gelbart. Sept. 20, 7 p.m.: New York Gypsy All-Stars (above), a group of Roma and non-Roma musicians playing funk, jazz and traditional music. Sept. 22, 7:30 p.m.: Fanfare Ciocarlia. Sept. 22, 10 p.m.: Fanfare Ciocarlia afterparty, with Roma Carnivale. Sept. 27, 10 p.m.: Sepiatonic of Portland and DJ Ipek from Berlin do a multimedia mash-up of electronic, Roma and Eastern music. Sept. 28, 7 p.m.: Flamenco dance, with Elena Andújar of Spain. Sept. 30, 7 p.m.: Ariadna Castellanos of Spain plays flamenco-jazz on piano. </p>