The biggest music stars deserve to get special treatment in Romania, even if they break the law. And fans remain true even while on duty as police officers. Well, nothing new there – just another day at the office.
As COVID-19 infections loom throughout the country, authorities have introduced strict measures to slow down the spread of the deadly virus. In Bucharest, the infection rate reached 3.79 per one thousand inhabitants, so private parties have been banned, and restaurants, cafes, cinemas, theaters, bars, discos, and casinos have closed.
It may come as a surprise (NOT!), though, that some people still believe they have the right to entertain themselves and friends with a private concert given by the uncrowned kings of Romanian etno-pop, known as manele*.
And it is absolutely normal to have a manele concert on the 10th floor of a luxury apartment building, especially if the stars themselves are singing the songs: Adrian Minune (EN: Adrian, the Miracle) and Tzancă Uraganul (EN: Tzancă, the Hurricane).
Police officers, however, didn’t agree with this, so they handed out a hefty RON 38,500 (EUR 7,909) fine to the nine participants and the two uncrowned kings of Romanian etno-pop.
After obtaining their consent to be fined, however, the policemen quickly transformed into enthusiastic fans and asked for a photo with the manele kings. But there is one tiny problem with the picture: The police officers forgot they were on duty, so the image shows them in uniform. Although their masks slightly obstruct their faces, the fact that they took the time to capture a photo and the picture itself are worth a thousand words; and it was so well done that it made the police officers famous overnight.
Well, this wasn’t exactly the kind of fame they were after, but it is still popularity.
*The manele music genre is a combination of Romanian folk and contemporary pop music, with Balkan influences. The lyrics usually refer to matters of the heart, dealing with one’s enemies, matters of wealth, and the difficulties of life in general. Critics of modern manele say that it is a low-class music genre.
Title image: The uncrowned manele kings in the company of police officers. Image credit: Facebook / Andrei Velcu
