At first glance, there is something paradoxical about the phenomenal success of the Gipsy Kings.
Who'd have thought that this band of gypsies from the south of France might one day be invited to perform at President George Bush's Inauguration Gala Ball -- even if they did fail to make the date?
But the flamenco virtuosi, who sing in a Franco-Spanish dialect known as Gitane, also spent 40 weeks on the US charts with their debut album and played to a full house at London's Royal Albert Hall.
Eric Clapton, George Michael and Elton John have all expressed their admiration for the Gipsy Kings while Joan Baez invited them into the studio to help recut one of her tracks.
And, on February 8, the European pop icons are due to make their debut appearance in St Petersburg with a one-night gig at the Oktyabrsky Concert Hall.
The band started out in the 1970s as Los Reyes.
Formed by the Reyes brothers (sons of the famous flamenco singer Jose Reyes) and their Baliardo cousins, they performed in the street and at gypsy weddings.
It took another decade and producer Claude Martinez to make the break into the pop charts.
Under Martinez' guidance, they beefed up their music with Arabic and Latin American sounds as well as rai, reggae and pop.
The move invited the scorn of music critics and flamenco purists but endeared the ensemble to pop audiences worldwide.
The time was right and they leapt effortlessly onto the "world music" bandwagon.
Having sold more than 8 million albums worldwide (over 1 million in the US), they will come to Russia on the strength of their recent "Love and Liberte" album.
Although they have never been officially released in this country, The Gipsy Kings enjoy a regular airing on local radio stations and their cassettes are available from street bootleggers.
The tools of their trade are guitars, castanets, drums and staccato handclaps.