It has been 30 years since Mónika Lakatos first emerged on the Hungarian and international music scenes and started building bridges between cultures through her art: an emblem and authentic representative of the Gypsy musical tradition, she has also become an integral part of the Hungarian music world as a whole. We are celebrating this milestone with a jubilee concert featuring performances by the ensembles and fellow artists who have figured heavily in her career. Starting with her 1996 debut on the television talent search programme Ki Mit Tud? (‘Who Can Do What?’) and followed by her stint as a guest musician with Romano Drom, she formed the band Romengo with her husband, Mihály Mazsi Rostás, and worked with the dynamic line-up Mónika Lakatos and the Gypsy Voices. This career spanning three decades earned her – as the first Hungarian woman and first performer of Roma origin to win one – a WOMEX Award in 2020, as well as the Kossuth Prize two years later, and is truly worthy of celebration. Her singing voice, full of awesome dramatic power, coupled with her unmatched stage presence always make for a personal testament of elemental force.

Presented by: Müpa Budapest