Voluntari
—  Town  —
Coat of arms
Voluntari Location of Voluntari
Coordinates: 44°29′33″N 26°11′29″E / 44.4925°N 26.19139°E / 44.4925; 26.19139Coordinates: 44°29′33″N 26°11′29″E / 44.4925°N 26.19139°E / 44.4925; 26.19139
Country	Romania
County	Ilfov County
Status	Town
Government
• Mayor	Florentin Costel Pandele (Social Democratic Party)
Population (2002)
• Total	30,016
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Website	http://www.primaria-voluntari.ro/

Voluntari (Romanian pronunciation: [volunˈtarʲ]) is a town in Ilfov county, Romania. It is located at a distance of 1 km from the northern border of Bucharest (2 km from the National Road) and is thus frequently viewed as a suburb of Bucharest.

The population is 30,016 inhabitants according to the 2002 census, with an ethnic composition of 97.6% Romanians, 1.7% Roma and 0.7% of other ethnic groups.

The low price of land, the proximity to the city of Bucharest and the easy and reliable access to both the railway network and the road network have allowed a steady development of industrial and commercial facilities, especially in the light industry and import/export commerce. The town's output estimate increased by over 25% between 2001 and 2005. Even with such high development rates, many residents remain unemployed or commute to Bucharest. Voluntari contains a shopping centre known as Jolie Ville Galleria, a Metro Cash and Carry hypermarket as well as the headquarters of Vodafone Romania.

Voluntari literally means "Volunteers", in Romanian, being founded by the volunteer soldiers who fought for Romania in World War I and were given plots to build their home there after the war. The settlement received its city status in 2004.

Local government[link]

The Voluntari Local Council (Consiliul Local Voluntari) has 19 councillors. It is considered to be a very safe Social Democratic town, currently having the following party composition:

Transport[link]

Voluntari has its own bus network, operated by the local council, consisting of three bus routes: 153, 155 and 167. Additionally, the city is connected to Bucharest by bus routes run by RATB, Bucharest's public transport operator.

Education[link]

Voluntari is the site of the American International School of Bucharest and of Mark Twain International School.

v t e Ilfov County, Romania Cities None Towns Buftea Bragadiru Chitila Măgurele Otopeni Pantelimon Popeşti-Leordeni Voluntari Communes Afumaţi Baloteşti Berceni Brăneşti Cernica Chiajna Ciolpani Ciorogârla Clinceni Copăceni Corbeanca Cornetu Dărăşti-Ilfov Dascălu 1 Decembrie Dobroeşti Domneşti Dragomireşti-Vale Găneasa Glina Grădiştea Gruiu Jilava Moara Vlăsiei Mogoşoaia Nuci Periş Petrăchioaia Snagov Ştefăneştii de Jos Tunari Vidra

References[link]

This Ilfov County location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Florin Stoian (born 1979, Bucharest), better known under the stage name of Florin Salam and (previously) Florin Fermecătoru, is a Gypsy singer of manele from Romania. He is one of the best known and appreciated manele performers.

Stoian has been singing since he was a child; his first contact with music took place at age of four. His father and uncle were well-known lăutari. He debuted in 2002 with help from bandleader Dan Bursuc. His first hit single was "Ce gagică şmecherită" (Romanian: "Such a picky chick"). He played an important part when the smash hit "Of, viaţa mea" (Romanian: "Oh, my life") was released in 2000, sung by Adrian Minune and Costi Ioniţă. In 2002 Florin Stoian changed his stage name from Fermecătoru (Romanian: "The Glamorous") to Salam (Arabian: "peace", cf. Hebrew "shalom", and Romanian: "salami" ).

In 2008 he performed a song together with pop singer Paula Seling and the Bucharest Symphonic Orchestra. The show host described their performance as a reconciliation between manele and mainstream pop music; in the same respect, the song's lyrics raised the problem of ethnic intolerance.

Florin Stoian is the vice-president of Asociaţia Artiştilor, Muzicanţilor şi Lăutarilor Romi din România (Romanian: "The association of Romani artists, musicians and lăutari from Romania".) In December 2005 he was announced the best manele performer of the year. According to the daily paper Libertatea, politician Mădălin Voicu and footballer Marius Niculae count among his fans.

Florin's parents are Maria and Robert Stoian. In September 2007 he married Ştefania Victoria, his first wife according to the Romani law; the best man was manele singer Adrian Minune. The wedding took place in the Anatolia Resort (Turkey.) The couple gave birth to two children. On April 12, 2009, Ştefania (aged 27) died from hepatic cirrhosis.

References[link]

• Florin Salam at starmania.ro
• Florin Salam Bio
• Salam Fermecatorul at libertatea.ro