輯譯／黃裕美
Discordant brass notes escape from a rehearsal room in Sliven's gypsy ghetto in Bulgaria , as 15 local boys prepare for band practice and take a break from the poverty-stricken life of the slum outside.
保加利亞斯利文吉普賽貧民窟排練室斷斷續續傳出銅管樂器零零落落的音符，當地15個少年正為樂團演出排練，也暫時忘了外頭貧民窟的窮困生活。
“Now boys -- one, two, three...,” band leader Angel Tichaliev calls out and the tunes merge into a bold, lively melody that resonates in the room barely bigger than a one-car garage.
「大家注意，1、2、3……」樂隊指揮提查列夫一聲令下，曲調匯流成大膽活潑的旋律，在一個幾乎沒車庫大的房間裡響起。
The retired trumpet player formed the Karandila Junior band in 2007 to give a new chance for children and grandchildren of fellow gypsy musicians in this neighborhood incongruously named Nadezhda, or 'hope' in Bulgarian.
這位退休的小號演奏家於 2007年成立卡蘭迪拉少年樂團，給這附近吉普賽音樂同好的子孫一個新機會，並取了個有點不搭調的名字「娜傑日達」，保加利亞文意指「希望」。
“Music is a way to steal the boys away from the everyday reality in the ghetto and to keep the gypsy orchestra tradition alive,” says the 56-year-old, who used to play in a military band.
這位曾在軍樂隊演奏的56歲樂師說：「音樂是帶這些孩子遠離貧民窟日常現實生活，並維繫吉普賽樂團傳統於不墜的方式之一。」
Karandila Junior is Bulgaria's only youth gypsy band. It has already performed at several popular music festivals abroad, including the Vienna Balkan Fever festival and Hungary's famous Sziget Festival.
卡蘭迪拉少年樂團是保加利亞唯一一支青少年吉普賽樂隊。它已在海外幾個知名流行音樂節表演過，其中包括維也納巴爾幹熱力音樂節及匈牙利著名的島嶼音樂節。
Crowds of ragged children jostle with horse carts in the narrow, laundry-draped alleys of Nadezhda -- notorious since communist times for its high levels of crime, illiteracy and poverty. Chickens peck for food outside the band's rehearsal room, oblivious to the loud music inside.
一群群衣衫襤褸的兒童和馬車在娜傑日達晾滿洗好衣物的狹窄巷弄裡彼此推擠衝撞，娜傑日達自共產主義時代就以極高的犯罪、文盲和貧窮率而惡名昭彰。幾隻雞在樂隊排練室外啄食，渾然不覺室內音樂有多嘈雜。
The band's compositions -- a blend of gypsy music, Bulgarian and Turkish folklore and even jazz and reggae -- have received a warm welcome from some of Bulgaria's leading composers and musicians and they have a run of upcoming gigs across the country and in neighboring Macedonia.
樂團的組成融合了吉普賽音樂及保加利亞和土耳其民俗音樂，甚至爵士和雷鬼，並已獲得保加利亞一些最重要的作曲家和音樂家熱情相挺，他們即將在全國各地並到鄰國馬其頓巡迴演出。
“People like us there because we make motley gypsy music where everything sounds natural,” Tichaliev says.
提查列夫說：「人們很歡迎我們去表演，因為我們演奏形形色色的吉普賽音樂，一切聽起來都渾然天成。」
His hope to open up new horizons for the boys, aged 12 to 18, seems to be paying off. For some, the Vienna trip was their first time abroad. Others are rethinking goals.
他希望為12至18歲的少年開拓新視野，似乎已經得到回報。對有些團員，維也納之行是他們第一次出國。其他人則正在重新思考人生的目標。
“My dad is a barber and he teaches me, but I want to become a musician,” says Rumen, 15, patting his borrowed old trumpet like a pet. Marian and Filcho, both 12-year-old clarinet players, think music might be a better option than their earlier dreams of becoming great football players.
15歲的魯門說：「我爸是理髮師，他把這門手藝傳授給我，但我想當音樂家。」他邊說邊像對待寵物般，拍拍借來的老舊小號。吹奏單簧管的馬利安和菲邱都是12歲，他們原來夢想成為偉大的足球員，但現在覺得音樂可能是更好的選擇。
All the boys play by ear, often improvising during performances. A few have started to learn to read music. “We gypsies have a knack for it and can't do anything better than this,” Tichaliev says.
所有孩子都是聽了音樂就會演奏，而且經常即興表演，有幾個已經開始學看五線譜。 提查列夫說：「我們吉卜賽人這方面很有天分，沒有比做這件事更拿手的。」
While he hopes some will study music seriously some day, his immediate dreams involve replacing the band's aging instruments and finding money for new performance suits since many boys have grown out of their old ones.
雖然他也希望其中有些孩子有朝一日能認真學音樂，但他眼前的夢想是換掉樂團老舊的樂器，並籌錢做新制服，因為很多男孩已經長大，舊衣服早就穿不下了。
“Friends here and abroad help me financially but in Bulgaria hardly anyone ever takes it upon himself to lend a hand,” he says. As for support from government Roma programmes, they have contributed nothing, he shrugs.
他說：「這裡和國外的朋友提供我財力援助，但在保加利亞，很少有人會伸出援手。」談到政府對羅姆吉普賽人的贊助計畫，他聳聳肩表示，幾乎是零。
Undeterred, Tichaliev is planning a second album for Karandila Junior and wants to form an even younger Karandila Mini band this year.
但提查列夫並不氣餒，他正計畫為卡蘭迪拉少年樂團出第二張專輯，今年並希望成立一個更年幼的卡蘭迪拉迷你樂團。
Candidates are plentiful, judging by the faces peeking in the window during rehearsals or sneaking into the room to listen. When Tichaliev steps away for a moment, 10-year-old Asen grabs a bass guitar almost twice as big as himself and plays to applause from other boys.
他也不愁找不到樂手，排練時窗口不時有些臉孔探頭張望，或偷溜進房間裡聽音樂。當提查列夫離開片刻之際，10歲大的阿森抓了一把幾乎有他身材兩倍大的低音吉他即席演奏起來，並贏得其他男孩的掌聲。
“Rehearsal's over. Cut out the cacophony,” Tichaliev snaps and the boys scurry out onto the puddle-covered alley to head home along the concrete wall that hides their slum from Sliven's railway station.
「排練結束，別再製造雜音了。」提查列夫突然以嚴厲的口吻說。所有男孩急忙跑到外面布滿水坑的巷弄，沿著水泥牆走回家，這堵牆擋住貧民區，看不見那頭的斯利文火車站。
Picture shows Bulgaria's only youth gypsy band Karandila Junior practicing in Sliven's gypsy ghetto.