Răsu’ - plânsu’ – “laughing through tears”

is a Romanian expression deeply rooted in the national culture, capturing the coexistence of laughter and sorrow.

During the communist period, especially under Ceausescu’s systematization program (1974–1989), hundreds of villages were relocated to new apartment blocks—large-scale collectives known locally as “blocuri”.

Many rural families found themselves in uniform, compact flats in Bucharest. They carried rural lifestyles and expectations, later adapting their apartments and surrounding communal spaces to recreate a sense of home and community in an anonymous and rigid environment.

Personal adjustments became a means to humanize and domesticate these concrete landscapes. Residents break through the monotony and uniformity of the planned city.