Narodila jsem se pod šťastnou hvězdou – Lacková Elena (2020)

This Czech-language biography presents the life and memories of a Slovak Romani woman whose fate represents a model of social emancipation, while also offering an ethnologically fascinating portrait of the Romani minority. Elena Lacková (22 March 1921, Veľký Šariš–1 January 2003, Košice) wrote the first Romani play and rehearsed it with her relatives in a shack in a Romani settlement. Newspapers wrote about her with admiration, and she raised Romipen from the mire of ignorant contempt. In 1976, Milena Hübschmannová began visiting Ilona again, recording her stories over long evenings and returning several times a year for eight years. Ilona spoke about things she had never discussed while her husband was alive, offering an open reflection on and assessment of her own life. Hübschmannová transcribed the recordings, gradually building up pages and files of Romani texts, and felt increasingly compelled to share Ilona’s testimony with others. This biographical mosaic includes fantastical elements, as well as the testimony of a woman who lived through two totalitarian regimes and struggled to preserve her traditional faith.