Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Poetry in English and in Spanish
Poetry in English and in Spanish
Index
Poetry in Basque
Chapter 1.
2013
Chronological Index
* Period 1919-1936
or Intziriak
or Euskaldun barriaren bestia or
Berez
or Ez dago!
o Abertzalearen ituna o
Neure aberria o
Ene Urtzi! o
Ituna o
Udabarri goiza o
Eleizalde hil da o
Koskotegian o
Lorarik onena o
Paultxoren irribarrea o
Euskera zeruan o
Euskerari o
Otoia o
Itsaso aurrean o
Guztiz garbiari o
Artzubiko lertegiari o
Tibalt erregerena o
Biziaren alegia
* Period 1937-1968
or Hizkuntzaren Deia
or Lagun ieri or
Mirentxuren Mahai-Zkena or
Aita Jaunaren Zahartzaroa or
Herrimina or
Begojaren Jaiotzean or
Amerikarako Bidean or
Emakume Euskal-Ikasleren ETS
or lurmina or Mona Lisa
or Euskal poetak or Axular
o Urrundik
o Getxori
o Getxoko basetxe zaharrentzako kantua o
Musu bat o
Ene maitea o
Askatasun o
Arrabita soinu o
Getxo
* Period 1939-1965
o Athalie
o Bihotza jauzten jat o
Ontziburu!, nire ontziburu! o
Aholku onaren ballad o
Agur o
Zuhaitzak o
Artzain maiteminduak bere maiteari o
Bakartasuna o
Zurekin hizketan o
Finojosako neska behizaina o
V. hamalaukoa o
Andere bati o
Bihar o
Loreei o
Hamleten neurtitzak Ofeleri o
Ofeleren kantuak o
Hobigilearen kantua o
Maitagarrien kantua o L
XVI. hamalaukoa or
Reading Bahitegiko Leloa or
Errusiako mintzoa
abertzalearen ituna
1920
Agur
GOOD BYE
1941
Geoffrey Chaucer
AMAIKIA
1941
txapelagaz estaldurik,
zuti-gura ta ezinean
Pipia du ezpainetan
amandreak emandako
Paris, 1939
Amerikarako bidean
Itsasoaren zabala,
Itsasusoak laguntzat,
itxaropena gidari,
norberen herri-maitetasuna
basabereek zuloa,
«Iturrieta» zaharrean
ta itsas-gezalera jaurti.
itsasertzean da ageri.
Amets
atsekabe ta atsegin,
Adar mardulak do
adarren apaingarri
txiruli ta txiruli.
haritzaren sustraiak
ta haritza biziko da
orritsu ta mardula.
Caracas, 1959
Leonardo of Argensola
Andere beat
eder-gezurra parekogabia
1943
Arrabita soinu
Badoa, badator
gozo-gozoki,
urrunduz orain
hurbilduz gero,
arroi-hotsa dela
dela deidara,
nahiz dakarrela
Caracas, 1965
Christopher Marlowe
1941
artzubiko lertegiari
artzubiko lertegi,
Begien betegarri!
Hire oinetan,
artzubiko lertegi,
artzubiko lertegi,
sarri nindoan
Ameskor, bakar,
sasi artean
Beheraxeago,
gerizapean.
sinisgarri jat
Artzubiko lertegi!
begien oinazgarri
Ondoak hilarri.
Artzubiko lertegi!
Orain ta beti,
askatasun
Basque-enda dugu;
jaio da ta zahartu.
hartu du ikaskizun:
sortu du askatasun!
Caracas, 1965
jean racine
Axular
Caracas, 1962
Alexander Pope
Bakartasuna
REQUEST
beraren lurrean.
damotsoe zinki.
egunez atsegin.
landuaz gogoa.
begoñaren jaiotzean
Berez
dabez goizaldian.
be dagi mendian.
"amatxo maitia".
1920
Lope de Vega
Bihar
1943
William Wordsworth
1941
biziaren alegia
Ibai-uraren lasterra!
eltzun-buruan abarra,
abar-buruan kimuno,
Ibai-uraren lasterra!
abarrean txori-txintak,
ibaian maite-murmurrak.
Ur-azalean hegazka
sorginorratzak burrunka
Biziaren atsegina!
Biziaren atsegina!».
Ibai-uraren lasterra!
Ibai-uraren lasterra!
1936
eleizalde hil da
haundiagoa bihotzez.
Lortu baino lehen hil da. Oi, laster, ikusko ahal dau zerutik!
Emakume euskal-ikaslearena
Euzkadiren jauskaldia:
Jan Urtzi!
doneik doniena,
Zintzoik zintzoena.
Neu-begi zorrotzak
Ta neure bihotza.
Neu-Urtzioi dautortzut.
Gur-hitz-dei dagitzut.
Ekaitz gogorretan,
Haize-ostotsetan.
Jan Urtzi!
1920
ene maitea
maitasunak narama;
maitasunak narabila,
liluraturik nauka.
ezautzenago nuan.
apaindua zegola.
jantzi pinpirinenak,
apaingarri jorienak
ta pitxi bikainenak.
hobeki beharrean.
paregabe izatea,
maitasunak narama.
Ivan Turgenev
errusiako mintzoa
Ezbaiko egunetan,
horrelako mintzoa
emanates ez izatea!
1965
Euskal poetak
Neure zoritxarra!
zeruan basque
Jaunaren aurrean,
ta hegoak apalduta
iraindu ez zaituan
eta galdu-zorian
egoan hizkuntzak
badakizu burua
ta badaukazala
inoiz ez eukiriko
olerkari goiak.
ahots bikainenak
dantzuguzan bertoko
kantari-taldean
basque zahar-garbiak
bere aurkezleak
emoidazu baia
eusko-olerkari
joyous irribarre
aita maitekorrak
ezpainak zabalduta
hodeien artetik
aingerua lurrera
Eusko-olerkari artean
Biak donoki-gaiak,
biak bihotz-garbi,
biak buru-argiak,
ta gogo-kantari.
1933
Basque
Basque, Basque,
Hizkera goitarra,
Ele harrigarri,
Gogobihotz asegarri.
Hizkuntza aberatsa,
Nire emaztegaia!
zu nirera ekarri,
ta jaunak bidali
daien iragarri
abertzalearen ituna
1920
Ez dago!
ez dago amarentzat
seintxoa lakorik
Ez maitalearentzat
maitea bardinik.
Ez ta neuretzat ere,
neu-Aberri hori
1920
Marquis of Santillana
neska ederragorik
Finojosako neska
calatraveño aldetik
Santa Mariara
bideari jarraituz,
wrong logurak,
latz-artean
finojosakoa.
Larrosaz ta lorezko
abereak zaintzen
finojosakoa.
larrosa gorririk
gorapena utzita,
finojosakoa.
ez nion begiratu
askatasuna galdu
nezakeen beldurrez.
jakiteko): «Ederra,
Finojosakoa...?»
Irribarrez is zun:
«Ongi etorria;
galdetzen duzuna:
ez da maite-minean,
ez maite-begira,
Finojosakoa».
1943
getxori
Caracas, 1963
Guztiz Garbiari
fenelon
Ondasun-iturri, maitasun-itsaso,
1935
Leonardo of Argensola
V. hamalaukoa
SONNET V
1943
herrimina
Joachim Du Bellayren
Hizkuntzaren deia
zuen beg,
irakasteko hemen
euskeraz hizketan;
bizitzeko bertan.
euzkadi guztian,
negon ezpainetan.
Gizon ta emakumeen
bihotz barruetan,
eroaten ninduten
hiri-basoetan;
orduko aldietan.
izan beharrekoan
gogorrago direnak
dozuz gorunduta,
guztiz zapalduta;
lotsaz makurtuta.
Jaungoikoak demands
darabilzun ele
buruaren jabe.
baseri ta kale;
entzun egidazu,
basque ez da hilko
ez dira arerioak
basque isiltzeko
zeure-zeurea dozu
eutsi egiozu.
ez dozulako egin
Ama-semeek bertan
wrong day,
euskaldunak tell it
gehienak ahaztute;
nagizula maite.
ez direlako ahaztu
jakingo balute
euskara galdute,
esango lukete.
euskaldun jatorra,
ez zaitezela ahaztu
mutil-neska gazte;
1938
William Shakespeare
hobigilearen kantua
lur-barrenean sarrarazirik
1947
Intziriak
Itsaso aurrean 1
1934
Ituna
—Txoritxo hori,
txoritxo hori,
zer darabilk
hor-hemen?
—Udabarria
dela-ta
alaikiro
poz-poz,
abarrik abar
hegazka
alai joat
abesten
—Txoritxo hori,
txoritxo hori,
amea
jagok hilten;
ez zagok
bertan udarik
ezta poztasunik
be.
osoro baltzez
josita
bera baijagok
minez.
Ez beast,
txoritxo hori,
ez bestu
pozarren;
bestu
beharra badok,
bestu eik
deny.
hilten
aberria jagok,
Euskotar-Amea
hilten.
Txoritxo hori,
txoritxo hori,
isildu, isildu,
come on!
1921
Koskotegian
Ta gurutzean ezarri.
Geure heriotz-ostean.
lagoon onari
heriotza jatortzula.
eta ez bizitzarena,
lorarik onena
Abesten dihardu;
Mendi-zelaiak edertasunez
Txukunena daukat.
eztitsu hartzean,
Lotan... zorunean...
Neure baratzean.
Ta larri garratzak;
Ebaki behe-behetik
Samurren Pozik,
Emoi ederrena.
Hartu, bureztun-urre-pitxizkoz
Lirain apainduta
Nire lili-xorta.
Gainetik bakarrik,
Ostera barrutik.
Arnastu guraina,
Beronen usaina.
Bizitz-bidean itsumustuka
dabiltzan gaixoak
Abegi on-onez,
Loreei
TO THE FLOWERS
urre-edur-gorri-ortzadar direnak,
1943
lurmina
oinarri hartuta
Haraxe, haraxe,
Haraxe, haraxe,
Haraxe, haraxe,
William Shakespeare
LXVI. hamalaukoa
SONNET LXVI
1953
mahatsaren gorespena
hozkirria hartzeko!
eder sutarako.
abel-oherako.
dingilizka naro.
askoz ederrago!
William Shakespeare
maitagarrien kantua
txapar ta astarrosan,
1952
Mirentxuren mahai-azkena
gorria ta tomato
banana hartuki,
einda txiki-txiki.
aitatxuak, noski,
matraileak beteta
jatean, gozoki,
dagiztakazan soak
ta irriak ikuski.
Paris, 1939
Mona Lisa
musu bat
neure aberria
neure aberriak
badauz mendiak
basetxe zuri,
haran orlegi,
leiarrezko iturritxoak.
euroin urak
bakarrik niri
William Shakespeare
ofeleren kantuak
ta sandalien bidez».
burukotzat belarra ta
bustitzen zituztela...
Agirian aurpegia.
Ta ez da berriz itzuliko?
ta sapinezko ilea;
arigara adiaka.
erruki dadila!
1947
walt whitman
O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!
Hurbil da portua, aditzen ditut joaleak eta herri osoak zuri goraka,
hots egiten du turutak. Zuretzat dira lore sorta eta bureztun horiek.
Ontziak, bear eta gaizka, boot du aingura; bere bidaldia bukatu da.
1941
otoibat
otoia
Esne ta eztizkoak.
Sugerik bidaztiak.
Harroinak, urrezkoak.
Nongura, ikustekoak.
Bertan Zuzentasuna.
Adiskide kutuna.
Daukazu bakaulkian.
Maitasun ta ikaraz.
Goretsi zagizadan!
Horrenbesteraino Zu maitatu ta
Nardaturiko hobena,
Gorputz-dei motelenak?
dagona dakidala,
Ta lohi-zale gauean.
Izango entzungorra!
1934
paultxoren irribarrea
Oscar Wilde
1896ko uztailak 7 1
Ez dute ezagutzen,
ez zegien negarrik;
esanik ez geneula;
araudi-aginduetan;
Heriotzginen Saizuloan?,
Ezer ez zitzaigun;
Txerpolari-jauzkak eginez,
ez ziren haizezkoak
Haize zinkurinatia
ahaide-hiltzaile bihozgabea!
Bat-bateko kaskaz
ez dago elizkizunik.
askatasun zoriontsuz,
buru-apal zebiltzanak,
Bahitegi-zainak,
ez baitzegoen hilobirik:
urkatu zuten:
bahitegian gautzanok
besterik ez dakigu;
ez Jainko-Semeek ez Giza-Semeek
Gizatasunaren tramankuluan.
usteltzen gogo-gorputzez.
ez du alferrikako negarren
1954
tibalt erregerena
Txorietan nagusi
erresinol eztia,
nafarren erregia.
orrileko goizean
Sorterritik dakartzak
ezpainetan barre-irri,
kanta-nahi eztarrian.
Champagne landetako
Errege olerkari!,
ha emaztetzat hartu!
1935
udabarri goiza
1923
urrundik
oinarri hartuta
Caracas, 1962
Joyce Kilmer
zuhaitzak
TREES
1941
John Milton
zurekin hizketan
1942
Episode 2.
CONFERENCE CYCLE
Chronological order
1) Pedro de ENBEITIA, the bard of Euskadi.- Presidente Alvear Theater, Buenos Aires, August 4, 1943.
6) GERNIKA AND THE BASQUE LIBERTIES.- Salon of Fine Arts, Montevideo, 1943.
10) ABOUT THE BASQUE LANGUAGE.- Euskal Erria, Montevideo, December 5, 1949.
11) THE BASQUES "GENIUS AND FIGURE".- Moretti Gallery, Montevideo, December 7, 1951.
12) THE BASQUE SURNAMES.- Auditorium of the University of Montevideo, October 3, 1951.
13) FUNERAL SPEECH by Juan URAGA.- El Buceo Cemetery, Montevideo, February 22, 1952.
14) THE LAW OF OCTOBER 25, 1839.- Auditorium of the University of Montevideo, November 1952.
16) GONZALO DE BERCEO.- Auditorium of the University of Montevideo, April 23, 1953.
17) THE RENAISSANCE. PRINCE OF VIANA.- Auditorium of the University of Montevideo, July 6, 1953.
21) PRO RESURGENCE OF THE BASQUE LANGUAGE.- Basque Center of Caracas, January 13, 1956.
23) LOSS OF THE BASQUE LEGISLATION.- Basque Center of Caracas, November 11, 1957.
25) LOSS OF THE BASQUE LEGISLATION.- Basque Center of Caracas, November 11, 1958.
26) JOSÉ ANTONIO AGUIRRE.- Basque Center of Caracas, March 22, 1961.
27) THE BASQUE LANGUAGE.- Basque Center of Caracas, June 14, 1961.
28) THE PREHISTORIC BASQUE MAN.- Basque Center of Caracas, May 17, 1961.
29) ORIXE. Nicolás Ormaetxea.- Basque Center of Caracas, September 13, 1961.
31) SABINO ARANA GOIRI.- Basque Center of Caracas, January 26, 1965.
Chapter 3.
The purpose of these Conferences organized by the Basque Pro-University Association was to give all Basques
the opportunity to acquire a solid knowledge of being a Basque national.
Given at the Basque Center of Caracas 1961
1.—THE EARTH. Primitive territory and current Basque soil. Zones and landscapes. .The mountain and the sea.
2.~PRIMITIVE BASQUE MAN. The Basque in pre-history. Franco-Cantabrian civilization; its scope and
characteristics of its survival in today's Euzkadi.
3.—THE HISTORICAL BASQUE MAN. Concept of the Basque through the Greeks and Romans, the
French and Spanish literature of the Golden Age; foreign travelers; characterological stage.
6.—CHRISTIANITY; its introduction into the country. Sorcery. heterodox. Sense of Basque religiosity.
7.—THE BASQUE LANGUAGE: general characteristics; primitive area of the same; retreat of its borders
through the various historical vicissitudes. influences.
8.—THE BASQUE HOUSE; its ethnic and social role. Legal institutions derived from it; the trunk; the heir;
flower communication.
9.—THE FAMILY is the basis of Basque political democracy. The fire vote Other family-based institutions.
11.—THE SURNAME; its origin, classes and significance; Basque surnames in Venezuela.
13.—THE autonomous and democratic MUNICIPALITY; its aspects in the different regions of the Basque country
from the origins to the present day.
14.—SOCIAL ORGANIZATION. Content of Basque democracy; sense of equality; reaction against the feudal
attempts of the Elder Kin. universal nobility.
16.—THE PEOPLE in the Roman, Visigothic and Arab periods: struggles and vicissitudes; unit. Sancho the Greater.
20.^LABURDI, ZUBEROA AND GENABARRA; own development; its links with France and England and its relations
with the southern Basque states.
21.—BASQUE LEGISLATION: Its written appearance in the different regions of Euzkadi; their fundamental character.
22.—BASQUE LAW: Basic institutions thereof; their origin, meaning and value.
23.—REGIONAL BODIES.—The General Meetings; organization and functions; other government agencies.
The Regiment and the General Council.
24.—INTERNATIONAL LIFE; treaties with England and maritime and commercial expansion
Basque.
25.—THE MEIDA AGE. The so-called unions with Castilla; its meaning and scope. Absorption attempts; four
homeland glories.
27.—THE BASQUES IN THE COMPANIES OF THE CROWN OF CASTILLA; precedents and development.
28.—THE BASQUES IN CASTILIAN LITERATURE; from Gonzalo de Berceo to the present day.
29.—THE BASQUE LANGUAGE; Bernardo Dechepare, the first poet in the Basque language; study of his work.
30.—PEDRO DE AXULAR, the greatest Basque prose writer. Study of his "GERO".
31.—THE PRINCE OF VIANA; image of his homeland and man of the Renaissance.
33.—DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. The Basques in the sea; whalers and cod boats.
Basque boats and maritime inventions.
35.—THE RIGHT OF RECENTLY DISCOVERED PEOPLES; Francisco de Vitoria and his doctrine of International Law.
39.—THE COLONIZERS. Urdaneta y Legazpí and the company from the Philippines.
41.—THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. maritime development; The Bilbao Consulate. International projection
of its ORDINANCES.
43.—CULTURAL COMPANIES: The Basque Society of Friends of the Country; Peñaflorida and his
collaborators. Scope of the work carried out.
44.—XIX CENTURY. The French Revolution and its impact on continental Euzkadi. Loss of freedoms of these
regions.
45.—THE NAPOLEONIC DEED. Results of the same in the north and in the south
46.—THE SPANISH DYNASTIC QUESTION. The first Carlist war; sense of Basque intervention. Zuma 1
acárregui, the Basque genius of war.
49.—THE REACTION IN THE COUNTRY; fueristas and "euskalerriakos". Cultural and political attempts
at revival; Arturo Campion.
51.—BASQUE RENAISSANCE. Cultural aspect. Congress of Basque Studies. The Basque Studies
Society. The Language Academy.
54.—THE LYRIC. precedents and contemporaries. Xabier de Lizardi and his work.
56.—THE BASQUE BOOK in Basque and Spanish; history, present and future.
60.— THE FUTURE OF BASQUE CULTURE. From primary school to university. The Basque language of
culture
Chapter 4.
Given the brevity and fragility of life; Faced with the series of calamities and disasters of all kinds and that
threaten and close us from all sides, men have always moved in three fundamental directions: that of easy
and immediate pleasure within which we seek oblivion of torturous care:
as the most seductive apologist of this philosophical sect wrote: that of despair that can be both passive and
active, nihilism or annihilation and, finally, the Christian one, the one that accepts the struggle no matter how
hard it is, taking it in a transcendental sense of stage preliminary to a definitive existence. Or stick to the earth
or sink into the abyss or rise to the skies; those are, ultimately, our three possible attitudes.
As in men, so in towns. Because there are in the history of these terrible moments in which misfortune and
catastrophe present themselves in such a way, dominating everything, saturating everything, that society
shaken to its very foundations has to make, in one direction or another, a choice that cannot be apparently
unconscious is ultimately certain and decisive. Examples to illustrate the statement offer us in abundance the
pages of history.
Few are as dramatic as the one that the old Euskal Erria offers us in recent years. All the physical and moral
calamities seem to have rained down on her in these two tremendous decades.
In order for those calamities so terrible in themselves to make themselves felt with redoubled force, behold,
the memory of the lost good —which is like the very essence of pain— appears as an obligatory companion
to each one of its present evils, like the atmosphere own in which all of them move and harass him. And so
that you end up feeling them in a more bitter way, the awareness of suffering them against all justice. That
something helps us to bear our misfortunes, knowing that we are, in some way, guilty of them. But we do not
lack among this accumulation of evils something that, in a certain way, consoles us for them. It is the
unwavering resolution of the Basque people not to give in to banality or despair; to breastfeed all disasters
and manfully go to the very heart of the sore with the only remedy that remains because no one can take it
away from us. Faith. Our tradition and antecedents do not allow us another solution and we turn to it with a
hope that exceeds all the limits of our misfortune.
For years now no other lights have shone in the sky of our culture than those of the great bonfires fueled by
thousands and thousands of books whose only crime was that they were written in the Basque language or
deal with Basque themes. The persecution of our culture has been tenacious and relentless.
Was it that we were to renounce forever all hope of resurrection?
The Basques, wrapped in the ruins of the current homeland catastrophe and feeling that perhaps we find
ourselves on the brink of another even more catastrophic war, have decided no; that it is not possible under
any circumstances to renounce the fight in cowardly collective suicide. And they have organized as in the
happy days, with the robust faith and the unwavering hope of the happy days, a Congress of Basque Studies
that will hold its high culture sessions in the week of September 12 to 19 in Villa de Biarritz.
Yes, with the memory of the homeland in mourning and the sensation of a world that is creaking over our
heads, we will meet in Biarritz to study lovingly, zealously, with the
Thought placed on the rebirth of our land. A thousand times our task would be thwarted, many more
times we would return with the same zeal to gather the scattered materials of our solar house collapsed
by the hurricane of injustice, because ours is a thousand times holy endeavor.
Many men of science will accompany us in this Congress, many men of good will of all nationalities who
love our people and who feel their tragedy as their own. Many children and descendants of Basques who
are honored by the culture in these American homelands will stand out in this Congress.
And from this shore of the River Plate, the best of Uruguay will accompany us, the intellectuals who have
already sent their work to the Congress: the highest-ranking personalities and cultural institutions that
have made or will make their fervent adherence present to it. And the entire oriental people will be there
with us in spirit, as enlightened as they are brave, born to vibrate before every fight for justice and every
enterprise of culture; to extend his hand as a noble gaucho to those who, just like the Basque, fight for
the purest of causes: the freedom of his spirit that no one can ever subdue.
Caracas
Chapter 5.
PEDRO MANUEL ARCAYA U., The Cabildo of Caracas. Caracas, 1965. 159 pp.
MARCO AURELIO VILA, Caracas metropolitan area. Caracas, 1965. 163 pp.
VICENTE DE AMEZAGA, The Basque element in the Venezuelan eighteenth century- Caracas, 1966.
Series of monographs selected and directed by the President of the Cultural Works Committee,
MR. ALFREDO BOULTON, with the cooperation of the Secretary of the Committee, DR. PEDRO GRASSES, and
previous approval of the National Commission, integrated by the Governor of Caracas, DR. RAUL
VALES A, the Special Commissioner of the Presidency, DR. AUGUSTO MÁRQUEZ CAÑIZALES, and the
vocals, dr. TOMAS ENRIQUE CARRILLO BATALLA, President of the Economic Works Committee;
DR. JULIÁN FERRIS, President of the Public Works Committee; Gives. CARLOS EDUARDO FRÍAS,
President of the Civic Works Committee.
He acts as general adviser of the editions of the Committees of Cultural and Economic Works the DR.
PEDRO GRASES, Acts as Secretary General of the National Commission, MR. ANTONIO PADRON
BULL.
current and historical events of the life of Caracas, in order to make them available to scholars in
those disciplines and the visitors of our capital city on the occasion of fulfilling the
four hundred years of its foundation.
Given the brevity and fragility of life; Faced with the series of calamities and disasters of all kinds and that
threaten and close us from all sides, men have always moved in three fundamental directions: that of easy
and immediate pleasure within which we seek oblivion of torturous care:
as the most seductive apologist of this philosophical sect wrote: that of despair that can be both passive and
active, nihilism or annihilation and, finally, the Christian one, the one that accepts the struggle no matter how
hard it is, taking it in a transcendental sense of stage preliminary to a definitive existence. Or stick to the earth
or sink into the abyss or rise to the skies; those are, ultimately, our three possible attitudes.
As in men, so in towns. Because there are in the history of these terrible moments in which misfortune and
catastrophe present themselves in such a way, dominating everything, saturating everything, that society
shaken to its very foundations has to make, in one direction or another, a choice that cannot be apparently
unconscious is ultimately certain and decisive. Examples to illustrate the statement offer us in abundance the
pages of history.
Few are as dramatic as the one that the old Euskal Erria offers us in recent years. All the physical and moral
calamities seem to have rained down on her in these two tremendous decades.
In order for those calamities so terrible in themselves to make themselves felt with redoubled force, behold,
the memory of the lost good —which is like the very essence of pain— appears as an obligatory companion
to each one of its present evils, like the atmosphere own in which all of them move and harass him. And so
that you end up feeling them in a more bitter way, the awareness of suffering them against all justice. That
something helps us to bear our misfortunes, knowing that we are, in some way, guilty of them. But we do not
lack among this accumulation of evils something that, in a certain way, consoles us for them. It is the
unwavering resolution of the Basque people not to give in to banality or despair; to breastfeed all disasters
and manfully go to the very heart of the sore with the only remedy that remains because no one can take it
away from us. Faith. Our tradition and antecedents do not allow us another solution and we turn to it with a
hope that exceeds all the limits of our misfortune.
For years now no other lights have shone in the sky of our culture than those of the great bonfires fueled by
thousands and thousands of books whose only crime was that they were written in the Basque language or
deal with Basque themes. The persecution of our culture has been tenacious and relentless.
Was it that we were to renounce forever all hope of resurrection?
The Basques, wrapped in the ruins of the current homeland catastrophe and feeling that perhaps we find
ourselves on the brink of another even more catastrophic war, have decided no; that it is not possible under
any circumstances to renounce the fight in cowardly collective suicide. And they have organized as in the
happy days, with the robust faith and the unwavering hope of the happy days, a Congress of Basque Studies
that will hold its high culture sessions in the week of September 12 to 19 in Villa de Biarritz.
Yes, with the memory of the homeland in mourning and the sensation of a world that is creaking above our
heads, we will meet in Biarritz to study lovingly, zealously, with our thoughts set on the rebirth of our land. A
thousand times our task would be thwarted, many more times we would return with the same zeal to gather
the scattered materials of our solar house collapsed by the hurricane of injustice, because ours is a thousand
times holy effort.
Many men of science will accompany us in this Congress, many men of good will of all nationalities who love our
people and who feel their tragedy as their own. Many children and descendants of Basques who are honored by
the culture in these American homelands will stand out in this Congress.
And from this shore of the River Plate, the best of Uruguay will accompany us, the intellectuals who have already
sent their work to the Congress: the highest-ranking personalities and cultural institutions that have made or will
make their fervent adherence present to it. And the entire oriental people will be there with us in spirit, as enlightened
as they are brave, born to vibrate before every fight for justice and every enterprise of culture; to extend his hand
as a noble gaucho to those who, just like the Basque, fight for the purest of causes: the freedom of his spirit that no
one can ever subdue.
Series of monographs selected and directed by the President of the Cultural Works Committee, DON ALFREDO
BOULTON, with the cooperation of the Secretary of the Committee, DR. PEDRO GRASES, and prior approval of
the National Commission, made up of the Governor of Caracas, DR. RAÚL VALES A, the Special Commissioner
of the Presidency, DR. AUGUSTO MÁRQUEZ CAÑIZALES, and the members, DR. TOMAS ENRIQUE CARRILLO
BATALLA, President of the Economic Works Committee; DR. JULIÁN FERRIS, President of the Public Works
Committee; Gives. CARLOS EDUARDO FRÍAS, President of the Civic Works Committee.
He acts as general adviser of the editions of the Committees of Cultural and Economic Works the DR.
PEDRO GRASES, Acts as Secretary General of the National Commission, MR. ANTONIO PADRON BULL.
The purpose of the series of monographic publications is to collect material on various current and historical aspects
of life in Caracas, in order to make them available to scholars in these disciplines and to visitors to our capital city
on the occasion of the four hundredth anniversary of its foundation.
Uruguay
Chapter 6.
May 1943 Bingen Ametzaga decided to accept the new responsibility of Organizing the Week
Basque
On October 30, Basque Week began, the celebration of which would last until November 13.
As we have indicated, it was at the beginning of May when the first steps were taken regarding the organization
of the events of the Great Basque Week that would take place in November. Late very late. This undoubtedly
motivated events to unfold at breakneck speed during the months of September and October 1943.
Once the problem of the internal reorganization of the delegation has been addressed, the next item on
Aldasoro's agenda would be to have the definitive support of Euskal Erria and, therefore, with the majority
support of the company's board.
For this purpose, he traveled to Montevideo on May 9, 1943, the day of the celebration of the center's 31st
anniversary. In the session of May 25, 1943, the president of Euskalerria informed his peers that he had been
visited by the Delegate of the Basque Government in Argentina, Ramón María Aldasoro, in the company of
Juan Domingo Uñarte and Ricardo Gisasola, in order to inform him that planned to take place in Montevideo
various cultural events. After these first contacts and, without a doubt, after having the majority support of the
members of the board, the event was made public through an article inserted in the Euzko Deya in Buenos
Aires on May 30 under the title "Important initiatives are under development of extraordinary interest to our
community"
After almost a month of contacts between the Uruguayan delegation and the aforementioned representatives
of Euskal Erria, Euzko Deya announced on June 20 the celebration of a Basque Week in Montevideo and the
inauguration of Plaza Gernika. The Buenos Aires newspaper La Nación also published in its June 22 issue
the news about the celebration of a Basque Cultural Week in Uruguay. Four days later, on June 26, Enrique
José Mochó was elected president of the Euskal Urna society. Manuel Gortari Vice President, José Manuel
Iguain Treasurer and Pedro Arteche Secretary.
Barely five days later, on the first of July and, through the reproduction in the Euskal Brria magazine of the
article published days before in La Nación, the new board of directors and, with it, the whole of society,
definitively and officially bet on the organization of the events of the Great Basque Week.
Finally, on July 27, the Board of Directors of Euskal Erria, in the company of the Fiestas and Charity and
Education commissions, received Aldasoro who, regarding the organization of the projected Basque Cultural
Week, was spending a brief stay in Montevideo . The delegate, after listing the steps taken so far, requested
the collaboration of the institution, arguing that a society of such prestige could not remain unaffected by an
initiative of such magnitude. In view of the enthusiasm with which the proposals were adopted, Aldasoro
proposed to the board of directors that the organizing committee for the Basque Week be physically located at
the headquarters of the society. To this, Losé Manuel Iguain responded that, in addition to the venue, the
company should provide its support in everything that the organization of an event of such magnitude required.
Without a doubt, it was not difficult to obtain the support of Euskal Erria when the act fit perfectly with the very
fundamental objectives established in the statutes of the company,
1. Tend to carry out, around this Institution, the union of the Basque family spread throughout the country.
2. Maintain the traditions and customs of Euzkadi, promoting its beneficial influence
among all associates.(...)
3. Celebrate parties and encourage the practice of sports, especially cultivating those that are genuinely
Basques.
5. Carry out a continuous propaganda of the Institution by all possible means that always tend to! magnification
of Euskal Erria and to the honor of the absent Homeland.
The Euskaro Español Center in Montevideo also collaborated actively in the events.
For this reason, on the 23rd, accompanied by Juan Domingo Uñarte, Julio Garra, Ricardo Gisasola, Aitor
Honnaeche and Pedro Arteche. Ramón Aldasoro was received by the directors of the Euskaro Español Center,
where he also requested collaboration for the planned festivities. Euskaro Español enthusiastically welcomed
the proposal, organizing an extraordinary festival for the month of September for the purpose of raising funds
to deal with the organization of the projected Basque Week. He was then president of the company Eulogio
Arín and Clemente Madoz vice president.
In this way, we can establish the official start date of the preparations on July 31, the day of the celebration of
the festivities of San Ignacio. Little had been advanced up to that date. The situation worsened even more
when in August Aldasoro suffered a stomach ulcer that kept him away from work for a long time.
Regarding the organization of the calendar of activities, the project proposed by Aldasoro at the meeting
on the 27th was very different from the program of activities that was finally going to be developed. In
principle it was a three-day event that, from October 30 to November 1, closely resembled the festival of
San Ignacio in 1942; inauguration of the act with a tribute to the president of the republic Juan José
Amezaga, main table in the cathedral of Montevideo, an exhibition of Basque art and folklore, inauguration
of Plaza Gerníka and a concert of sacred music. Events and, fundamentally, the spontaneous and
unpredictably wide support that the government and the political and cultural class of Uruguayan society
was going to grant to the act caused it to be delayed up to fifteen days. On the other hand, Plaza Gernika
would not be inaugurated until 1944. In any case, it is necessary to keep several issues in mind.
At the end of July 1943, the Basque government delegation in Buenos Aires already had the approval of
the President of the Republic and the Mayor of Montevideo, Juan P. Fabini. Likewise, the participation in
the events of personalities of Basque life in Uruguay such as José Iruretagoyena Anza or Father Pedro
Goikoetxea was also a fact even before the first managing committees of the Basque Week were
organized. In any case, a first draft of events would not be made public until September 30.
In August, the first three work commissions were organized: the executive commission, the finance
commission, and the art commission, and throughout said month new commissions and subcommittees
were created according to the new needs and demands of a constantly changing program. evolution and
expansion. Such is the case of press commissions or honor commissions. By mid-September, the five
main commissions had already been created. Julio Garra was elected president of the executive
committee, Rodolfo Gorriti and Juan Ibarra Aguerrebere vice presidents, Aitor Hormaeche secretary,
Enrique Berahu undersecretary and José Manuel Iguain treasurer. In addition to those mentioned, this
executive commission made up of 22 members was made up of the following: Ricardo Gisasola, Eulogio
Arín, Dionisio Garmendia. Miguel Báñales, Juan Domingo Uriarte, Luis V. Casatroja, Pedro Arteche,
Enrique J. Mochó. Arnaldo P. Parrabere and Manuel Gortari.
Most of them members of the Euskal Krria, although we also distinguish members of the Euskaro Club
of Montevideo.
Ignacio Garra, Juan Ibarra Aguerrebere and Aitor Hormaeche formed the finance commission "although
Luis San Martin, and Rodolfo Gorriti would later be appointed to such commission. José Bikandi was
elected, along with a large group of Uruguayan literary personalities , Emilio Oribe Coronel, José Zorrilla
de San Martín, Carlos Sabat Ercasty and the musician of Basque origin, Lauro Ayes taran, preside over
the art commission Arnaldo Pedro Parrabere, director of the magazine Euskal Erria was appointed
president of the press commission , of which Pedro Arteche and Bingen Ametzaga were part of. Finally,
Juan Domingo Uriarte, Pedro Arleche and Ricardo Gisasola formed the reception commission. In
September the Basque Youth Committee would also be organized, a commission made up mostly of
young Euskal members Erria.
Along with these commissions, women's commissions were also organized in each of the areas mentioned
above. María Ana Bidegarai Janssen was elected president of the executive committee and Blanca
Hormaeche and Concepción Ilurbey vice presidents. Maruja González, wife of Emilio Oribe, was appointed
president of the art commission, Elvira Parrabere, wife of Julio Garra, of Finance, and Pascasia Mendizabal
and Inés Bayne of Press and Propaganda.
Work schedules were also established. In this way, the fine arts commission would meet on Mondays;
the members of the executive commission and all the subcommittees dependent on it and, finally, on
Fridays the reception commission4"1. In addition to the aforementioned ordinary meetings, dozens of
meetings were held daily, mainly in the Euskal Erria in Montevideo and in the Laurak Bat of Buenos Aires.
The participation of the Laurak Bat was undoubtedly decisive in many aspects. Thanks to it, the
participation in the acts of the Laurak Bat choir was obtained
At the same time, the dantzaris and txistularis of the aforementioned Laurak Bat collaborated in the festive
activities together with the dance groups of Euzko Txokoa and Acción Vasca, then under the direction of
Saturnino Salegui and Pablo Galdeano. Among txislularis, dancers and singers, various sources estimate
that about 300 people from Argentina participated in the acts, mostly members of the aforementioned
three Basque ceñiros from Buenos Aires.
In the work corresponding to the fine arts commission, the three Basque-Argentine entities also did a
great job when José Bikandi managed to gather a lot of 300 works of art for the exhibition of Basque art
that would take place in Montevideo. Along with them, we must also highlight the collaboration of the
French Basque Center of the River Plate capital. In addition to the Basque entities, Aldasoro achieved the
participation of the Association of Architects of Buenos Aires, and in its bulletin already made an appeal
to associated architects so that those who have Basque work and wish to contribute with their contributions
and indications, plans, designs , projects, etc.. can do it. For its part, the entity will provide those elements
that are considered necessary within its availability once the architecture section is outlined.
The pieces of art would be deposited until they were shipped to Montevideo in the premises ceded in turn
for this purpose by the Buenos Aires Association for the Encouragement of Fine Arts. Likewise, on
September 17, the Argentine-Uruguayan Cultural Institute, chaired by the famous Argentine architect
Martin Nocí, made public its participation in the events. I hasten to express the lively sympathy that our
feelings are so pleasing to everything that refers to the noble country of which you are prestigious
representative figures, having to add for what touches me personally that the spontaneity of adhesion is
accentuated even more if possible because of the Basque ancestry of which I am proud. You count,
therefore, fully with us for the! an auspicious event to take place, to which, if possible, a representative of
the Institute will attend, which I will reiterate:
Despite the scope of the participation of the Basque-Argentine entities, the Basque press limited itself at all
times to mentioning the "collaboration" that these centers offered to Euskal Erria, the physical headquarters
and true lung of activities, the veteran Basque entity has offered to the organizers its contest for everything in
which it can be useful. I have understood the resignation of the Center's Board of Directors that his
collaboration with the Basque movement falls within his mission and his work, already so prestigious, in favor
of Basque interests in America
On September 5, the Centro Euskaro Español in Montevideo organized the first Euskal Jaia on the occasion
of the Great Basque Week celebrations: ball games, fanfare, food for 250 diners, musical repertoire by Maria
Eugenia Mújica and dance at six o'clock in the afternoon until late at night.
Present at the event were María Ana Bidegarai Janssen and Mercedes Iribarren Gorostegi, representing the
women's organizing commissions. Julio Garra, Manuel Gurlari, Julio Caporale and Bingen Ametzaga
represented the men's commissions. The party ended with a more than generous collection to pay for the
events of the Basque Week. The event program included a brief article entitled "What will the Basque Cultural
Week be?
Many, if not all, have wondered and are wondering: What will the Basque Cultural Week be?
We will try to explain it in a few lines. The Basque week has been projected with two objects: e! to show our
own and strangers the spiritual concerns of the Basque, and to find ourselves. In this life not everything is
work, not everything has to be the conquest of the tranquility and material happiness of daily life. The Basque
is industrious, orderly, thrifty, we will return, for a few days, to relive in this generous land of peace that
shelters us, all the customs of our parents, all the songs, dances and customs of ourselves.
This will be the Basque Cultural Week, Art, folklore and Basque civilization. See us as we are.
To feel united by the same idea!, by the same heart, by the same end: the perfect knowledge of our race,
making it known by all the means at our disposal. And in recognition of those who gave us life, for feeling
proud of belonging to that race that "DOES NOT DATE", of that race whose origin is unknown, we must give
all our sincere support, all our personal effort, to this Week of Basque Culture
In line with what was pointed out in the previous chapter, Ametzaga participates in the organization of the
acts despite not appearing in the direction of any commission.
We have agreed with Mr. Altor Hormaeche, that everything related to the organization of these will be
communicated directly to him and to you, and to Gisasola regarding the activities of our Delegation in
Montevideo. We have an overwhelming work schedule. The engineer Urbano Aguirre has offered to provide
the necessary money for the expenses that we must make of the afflicting worries that the begging that I am
forced to exercise to fulfill the functions that are entrusted to me creates for me. I'm going to take care of
getting the ads for the paid program, which is getting a bit alarming proportions.
One of Ametzaga's main tasks as a new member of the Montevideo delegation was the preparation of
honor commissions, made up entirely of prominent members of the political and intellectual life of Uruguayan
society. In this sense, he had the invaluable help at all times of María Luisa Iribarne, member and president
for years of the women's commission of the Euskal Erria society and wife of senator Duncan Batlle Berres
from the Colorado party. which was the sister-in-law of the one who would be president of the nation for the
same party in 1947 and in 1955, on this second occasion as a member of the country's presidential college,
Luis Battle Berres. A family of great prestige and political weight throughout the first half of the century in
Uruguay, Luis Batlle Berres was also the director of Radio Ariel.
It is not surprising, therefore, that Radio Ariel was precisely the station responsible for the daily transmission
of the events related to the celebration of the events of the Great Basque Week or that it was the station
that broadcast the statements of the Lehendakari Aguirre Iras his reappearance in Montevideo in October
1941. In addition to those mentioned, all prominent members of the Batlle family, César, Lorenzo and
Rafael Batlle Pacheco, as well as members of the Colorado party, were part of the honor commissions. 75
men and 12 women finally made up both commissions of honor. In addition to the president of the nation,
Juan José Amezaga, signed their adhesion signature and, therefore, formed part of the commission, the
eight ministers of the Amezaga cabinet, José Serrato, minister of foreign affairs, Juan José Carbajal
Viclorica, minister of interior, Tomás Berreta Minister of Public Works, Adolfo Follé Joanicó Minister of
Education, Ricardo Cosió Minister of Finance, Alfredo R. Campos Minister of National Management, Arturo
González Bidart Minister of Livestock and Agriculture and Luis Mattianuda Minister of Health.
Married to Celia Álvarez Mouliá, the president's three daughters, Ana María, Margarita and María Asunción,
all of them, like their parents, members of! Euskal Erria, were part of the women's honoi commission. In
addition to the members of the government, participation in the acts and adherence to the commission of
honor of the mayor of Montevideo Juan P.
Fabini and Juan C. Gómez Folie director of! metropolitan city police service. As has been said, in view of
the support and adherence shown from the beginning, the Basque government delegation decided from
the outset to begin the festivity with an act of homage and frank gratitude to the Uruguayan government
that had received Lehendakari Aguirre in 1941 and 1942 and welcomed in 1943 with such enthusiasm and
dedication the acts of the Basque Week in Montevideo.
However, there are other aspects to take into consideration in order to assess the collaboration provided
by the country's government. In addition to Juan José Amezaga himself, at least two of the ministers in his
government were of Basque origin, Tomás Berrela, minister of public works and future president of the
nation, and Arturo González Bidarl, minister of livestock and agriculture.
Coincidences of life, Juan José Amezaga was a native of Basque emigrants from Getxo, specifically Juan
José, like Bingen Ametzaga, great-grandson of Juan Bautista Ametzaga Elordi (born in 1780) and María
Manuela Piñaga Leuro (born in 1779) being therefore their respective grandparents brothers, with this
country I fell on my feet in the intellectWalus and .facial circles.
Perhaps something influenced by the fact that when we arrived my distant relative, Dr. Juan José Amezaga,
was president
Parallel to the collaboration provided by members of the government and. Together with him, from the Colorado Party, the
country's leading political force throughout the first half of the century, the representatives of practically all the other political
forces in the state lent their help and expressed their adherence to the acts. Among many others, Dardo Regules, president of
the Unión Cívica Christian Democratic party and later senator and minister for said party; Tomás Breña deputy from the same
party; Emilio Frugoni, president of the Socialist Party; Juan Andrés Ramírez director of the newspaper El Plata; Eduardo
Rodríguez Larrela director of the newspaper El País.
(SODRE). the state communication service; Raúl Montero Bustamante director of the Academy of Fine Arts; Ignacio Zorrilla de
San Martín, poet and writer of great renown; Monsignor Antonio María Barbicri, Archbishop of Montevideo and later Cardinal;
José Irurctagoyena Anza, professor of law at the University of the Republic and president, among many other entities, of the
Raneo Comercial and of the prestigious Rural Association and Rural Federation: Eduardo J. Couture Etchverry, dean of the law
school or, for Adolfo Berro García and Justino Jiménez de Arcchaga, director of the department of experimental phonetics and
phonology and professor of constitutional law at the University of the Republic, respectively. All of them would play a decisive role
in the development of the political and cultural activities of the Montevideo delegation after the events of the Basque Week.
A second task for Ametzaga in relation to the organization of the Basque Week and in the subsequent responsibilities related to
his duties as a member of the Montevideo delegation, was directing the Press Office and. more specifically, the writing section
and relations with the Uruguayan press. In order to comply with this task, this author wrote from the beginning of October 1943
until December of that year about thirty articles on various topics of Basque culture, mainly in El Plata, El Día, El País or El Bien
Público de Montevideo and in They were born from Buenos Aires.
From the beginning, both the Argentine press and, fundamentally, the Uruguayan press offered their collaboration in relation to
the dissemination of the preparations and. subsequently, the events of the Basque Week, one of the signs of the great interest
and sympathy with which the project has been received is the breadth with L/UÍ' all the Uruguayan press deals with! same. Daily
newspapers and magazines inferred publications revealing the details that are being outlined and the useful meaning of the
demonstrations. In this way e! The general public may have timely knowledge of the organization's work. This interesting
collaboration contributes greatly to highlighting the demos'
We can anticipate that this objective was more than achieved. Indeed, the organizers had managed to bring together many well-
known personalities around the Basque community, which did not go by a day without the press dealing with the issue.
Basque music and lectures were broadcast daily by the most prestigious Montevideo radio stations, and
the newspaper El País regularly published articles by |Tellagorri. Ametzaga would call El Plata "my private
forum" since from 1943 Juan Andrés Ramírez, along with Dardo Regules and Bingen Ametzaga, met
weekly in the newspaper's newsroom to discuss, among other things. Related, as we will see, with the
organization of the American Christian Democratic Organization created by the civic senator and of which
the three were founding members. It is difficult to calculate the exact number of press articles from the
delegation or from the Huskadi Press Office (created from 1947) published by the newspaper El Plata
between 1943 and 1956, but without a doubt each and every one of them was published. . that came into
the hands of Juan Andrés Ramírez, some of them sent by Regules himself.
With regard to the rest of the newspapers mentioned, Ametzaga also obtained the collaboration of
Eduardo Rodríguez Larreta, . as a member of the National Independent Party, minister of government
and foreign affairs in the governments of the Colorados Juan José Amezaga, Tomás Berreta and Luis
Batlle Berres (1943-1947). A member of the management team was also Martín Aguirre, a native of
Basque immigrants and a regular collaborator with regard to the publications sent from the Montevideo
delegation.
Also the daily E! Día covered the news extensively, as it would also repeatedly cover on double pages
various events in the social and cultural life of the Basque community in Montevideo. Since El Bien
Pública is the organ of the Christian Democratic party Unión Cívica of Dardo Regules and Tomás Breña,
Ametzaga had no difficulty in publishing as many articles as he could get his hands on in said newspaper.
Furthermore, this newspaper would constitute, as we will have the opportunity to see, one of the most
heated scenarios of political struggle between those members of the most reactionary church and,
therefore, close to Francoism, and other sectors of the church close to the political approach of the
delegation of the Basque Government delegation in Uruguay.
Despite having the majority support of the country's largest-circulation newspapers, there were
newspapers that, undoubtedly due to the scant influence that the Francoist legation always displayed in
this regard, were reluctant to lend their support. Such is the case of El Diario in which Ametzaga even
refused to collaborate, which created some discomfort within the press commission,
It seems to us that you should not insist on the refusal to collaborate in "El Diario". I am sure that your
articles will be recognized for their content. What difference does it make, then, if they appear in one or
the other newspaper? It is evident that we cannot go against lux fait accompli. On the other hand, along
the way, you will undoubtedly have opportunities to write in magazines or newspapers that satisfy you
more. I think that a small explanation is necessary with Aitor (Hormaeche) in which you tell him that you
will collaborate to the extent and place that he does, as general secretary of the Vanea Week. see fit:
you should not spare it by even saying that we have advised you in this regard.
The truth is that, since Ametzaga decided to accept the new responsibility in the delegation in May 1943,
he began to write extensively and with a certain echo in the Argentine press first and then in Uruguay, I
read with great interest and admired his preparation and taste trying! Castillo de Maríiartu y del exile, in
whose articles I appreciated his affective finesse and his verse in Castilian classics. His reviews of my
"Travellers" are the ones I appreciate most of all, because they are moved by a similar spirit to mine, they
enrich the text in a similar way to mine for a second edition, and they have taught me various things433.
Ten days later, praise again the
Basque critic the content of various articles written by Ametzaga in this period, I begin by congratulating
you on your latest article on Avala and her nephews, (...) You write very well e! Spanish and he knows
how to specify the issues perfectly: you already know that the so-called journalistic style that is lightness
and lack of mud or else I don't like even remotely. (...) It seems to me that they paint me as a demanding
ogre in literature.
Along with writing newspaper articles, Aldasoro asked Ametzaga to continue with the cycle of lectures
that began in the southern autumn of 1943. Five of those offered by the author between October 15 and
November 3 have been preserved: "Pedro de Enbeita, the popular Basque poet", in the auditorium of the
University of the Republic on October 15; "Boga, boga, marinela", on radio El espectador on October 17;
"Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, founder of Montevideo", in Plaza Zabala on October 30; "Guernica and
Basque liberties", at the SODKH on November 3, and "Los Fueros Vascos", at the plastic arts auditorium
on the same day, November 3. Given their success, Ixaka López Mendizabal commented on the idea of
including them all in one volume and publishing them in L:KIN with Andrés Irujo. The latter thought it was
a good idea and contacted Ametzaga through Telleixcü. Fulfilling the order you gave me through
Telletxea, I am attaching a copy of my speech to Eii-ko Deya. You will know that I have written it with an
almost new Underwood laptop that for a few days now has become my exclusive use. You will understand
that I am happy about it because it is always an incentive: I was remembering today that following a
speech that I gave in Euzko Txokoa on that topic "October 25, 1859", Ixaka told me about publishing it in
one of the volumes of £ X7A'435. Nevertheless, we would have to wait twenty-five years until the said
spine saw the light of day with the title of El hombre vasco, published by EK1N in 1967. In any case, one
more fruit of the Basque Week.
Also the radio stations collaborated in the diffusion of the preparations of the Week, the stations also
contribute for their part to intensify the existing atmosphere of cordial adherence, since they very
frequently broadcast news and references as well as glosses of the acts in preparation.
It is deeply appreciated this totally spontaneous adherence of the Uruguayan press and radio stations,
which from e! In the first moment and without any need for encouragement, they have contributed their
efforts to the work of the Basques and their friends. Some of the stations included daily spots, by CX 4
Directorate of Agronomy every day of. 12:15 to 12:30 and from 19:30 to 9:45; CX ¡O Radio Ariel, Monday
and Thursday at 5:00 p.m.; CX 14, The Spectator. Sundays at 12:15 p.m. and Thursdays at 2:30 p.m.;
CX 16, Radio Corve, Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. Sundays at 9:30 a.m. and Thursdays at 10:30 p.m.; CT $
Radio Libertad, Tuesday and Friday at 5:00 p.m. and CX 42 Radio Acreilam, every day from I?: 30 to
3:45 p.m. Such is the case of radio Ariel which, as we have indicated above through the intermediation
of María Luisa Iribarne, who offered a session dedicated to Basque Week every Monday and Thursday
as well as special sessions, such as those on the 22nd and 29th of October. In the first, in addition to
listening to the piano repertoire by Victoria Schemni, María Ana Bidegarai Janssen and Matilde Ibáñez,
the latter's wife of José Batlle Berres, spoke on ethnography, art and Basque folklore. On October 29 it
was the turn of María Luisa Iribarne herself, who informed the listeners about the final preparations for
the Basque Week. Undoubtedly, the work of the art commission headed by José Bikandi, professor at
the time, was also commendable. of the famous School of Fine Aries. The number of works of art
selected, collected and transported to Montevideo from Buenos Aires became so large that two
subcommissions had to be created, one headed by the Buenos Aires architect Félix Loizaga, a member
of the Lavrak ña(4í* and the second by by the architect Carlos Cueullu, who was in charge of the Album
of the Week.From the beginning, the Basque art exhibition was one of the central acts of the celebration,
so on September 20 Bikandi traveled to Montevideo to meet with Raúl Montero Bustamanle , president
of the National Commission of Culture of Montevideo in order to obtain
The collaboration provided by Montero Bustamante, a native of Basque immigrants from Porlugalete, would
extend during the thirteen years of work of the Basque delegation in Montevideo, and! Mr. Montero
Bustamante conveyed to Mr. Bikandi said invaluable collaboration, and informed of the scope of said artistic
demonstration (¡iti> is being prepared), he highly praised the initiative and the criteria that informed it. He
also demonstrated, once again, anie the traveler the interest that the things of the Basque town deserve and
expressed his confidence that the exhibition must contain great artistic value.He offered to give the
appropriate orders so that the halls of the National Culture Commission be arranged in the most convenient
way to those interested, works that are going to be exhibited and offered, once again, his personal contest.
At the same time, it was decided to put out the advertising poster for the Basque Week, the Montevideo
propaganda subcommittee has decided to provide the festivities with a poster announcing the events that
will be posted on the streets and in Ion ceñirás and establishments in Montevideo. For this purpose, a
contest will be organized in which Uruguayan artists who wish to do so may participate*4*. The painter
Carmelo Arzadun. the architect Armando Matos and Luis A. Fayol, director of the National Tourism Office of
Uruguay, made up the court. On October 10, the name of the winner was announced, Omar Zunino who
delivered the work entitled "Euzkadi". The sketches by JP Costigliolo and Emilio I, Fugassa also deserved a
mention by Eparte del tribunal. All the submitted works were exhibited at the Euskal Erria society.
Likewise, Euzko Deya and the League of Friends of the Basques of Buenos Aires, had printed in the
workshops of Sebastián de Amorrortu and sons a large year and profusely illustrated magazine that had 112
pages. On its first page was the dedication to the Uruguayan President Juan José Amezaga Ibarra.
Conceived and directed by Carlos Cueullu, José Urbano Aguirre, among others, had collaborated. Koldo
Lugones, Carlus Sabat Ercasty, Ixaka López Mendizabal, Joxe Mari de le, Pedro Basaldua, Dirigen
Ametzaga, Enrique de Gandía, José León de Jegui, Santiago Cunchillos and Manterola; being the cartoonists
Néstor Bazlerretxea and Félix Muñoa. Ultimately, it is necessary to highlight the work carried out by the
women's commissions, which took care of making in just two months the costumes for nearly one hundred
boys and girls who would make up the chorus of practically all the ones that were going to be celebrated.
That work, in addition to converting the Basque Country for two months, constituted a real research task
since from the beginning an attempt was made to make costumes typical of the rasco folklore of the various
territories, valleys and towns of Euskal Herria. For this, several experts from the Basque centers Euskal
Erria, Fuskaro Español and Laurak Bat gathered. Among the costumes, it is worth noting the success of the
roncales and roncalesa dress typical of the Duranguesado, thus taking their own designs that also had a
place in the celebrations. Such is the case of the ten Mikeletes costumes and the poxpoíiñas dresses with
the colors of the ikurriña designed by these women, the task of making regional dresses for this battalion of
young Danízañs began. An attempt was made to change the image of the typical costume feminine of the
poxpolina, a scarlet red skirt with bands of black trimmings, a black bodice and a white blouse, giving it the
bright colors of the Ikurriña: intense red skirts and emerald green bodices, while the white blouses were
populated with lace cuffs and necks. It goes the handkerchiefs, it was graced with more storied ties.
As a novelty, the typical costumes of the Roncal Valley, in Navarra, were presented, very lavish, cloth.
embroidered with colored flowers and silk threads. After the, acts, these costumes were used by the members
of the choir and the new group of txistularis that would be born from the constitution of the new Culture
Commission.
Once the preparations were finished, all that remained was to make a general appeal and the participation of
everyone in all the scheduled events, which was done through the circular sent to the members of the
various associations participating in the festivity, we hope that this Week of Basque Culture, whose
program we attach, finds among the Basques and the descendants of the Basques, warm and fervent
support that demonstrates the deep racial spirit that animates us. That is why we urge you to attend,
together with your relatives, all the scheduled events, where, at the same time that you honor them, you
will enjoy deep emotions typical of our land .
By virtue of the oral testimony of Mercedes Iribarren, after two months of days without nights, the fervent
activity that the Euskal Erria had boiled over for two long months gave rise to the exhausting activity of
the acts. The unexpected majority and determined participation of the partners and the equally
unpredictable participation and collaboration of the media, the government and, in general, Uruguayan
society, turned the initial project of the Argentine delegation, lasting only three days , in a fifteen-day
Basque Week of dense cultural, social and political activity, an unprecedented event in the history of
Basque nationalism in Uruguay.
On October 30, Basque Week began, the celebration of which would last until November 13. Despite this,
several events took place at the beginning of October, just before the busy schedule that would take place
at the beginning of next month. Among these previous events we can highlight the radio talks in the middle
of the month. The cycle of radio conferences was opened by the vice president of the Organizing Committee
Rodolfo Gorriti lecturing on the meaning of the festivity on CX 16 Radio Carve; Bingen Ametzaga continued
by reviewing the history of the Basque people through the reinterpretation of the song Boga, boga, marinela
in the CX 14 El Espectador studios; Mrs. Matilde Ibáflez de Batlle Ferres, wife and mother of those who
would later be both Presidents of the Republic, referred to the Basque language
Radio Ariel; María Luisa Eribarre de Batlle Ferres would close the cycle, who in a few words managed to
summarize better than anyone else the remarkable success of what would go down in history as "The
Great Basque Week of 1943", I am going to start by echoing the surprise that caused this movement of
ours, which has truly revolutionized the entire country. Quite a few people have told me already: "It didn't
seem like there were so many Basques in Montevideo." And, at the Parque Hotel, in the aftermath of the
cocktail that we celebrated a couple of Sundays ago, the manager told me that he could not remember
having ever sold so many tickets for a similar party.
On October 6, 1943, an act of homage to Julio Guaní, president of the supreme court of justice of Uruguay
and of the honorary commission of the Basque Week, took place in the Laurak Bal society in Buenos Aires.
Dr. Guaní was accompanied by the ambassador of the Republic of Uruguay in Argentina, Eugenio Martínez
Thedy, Héctor Gerona, vice president of the ROU and Martín Noel, president of the Argén ti no-Uruguay
Cultural Institute. The act consisted of a banquet, music and dances by the txistularis, poxpolinas, spinners
and dantzaris.
Ramón María Aldasoro then offered a conference to which Guaní spontaneously responded, I admire you
for your serenity and for your suffering carried with integrity and because this America is made of you,
which is your daughter and like you defends the spirit of democracy^4.
On October 9, a ball demonstration organized by the society's ad hoc committee took place at the Euskal
Eirria in Montevideo and, the following day, a party with a banquet for 200 people, talks, dances and a
procession on the grounds of Malvin. On the occasion of this event, about 300 people met in Malvín out of
a total of 600 members, who were the number that the company had in 1943. Therefore, a success of
participation. Five days later, on October 15, the conference given by Bingen Ametzaga on the Basque
bertsolari Pedro Enbeita took place.
Urretxindorra.
It was an express request from Aldasoro and other organizers of the Basque Week and in fact consisted
of a repetition of the conference offered by Ametzaga at the Teatro Alvear months before, the Basque
Cultural Week in Montevideo had as a preamble a conference by Dr. Vicente Amezaga held in the
auditorium of the University on October 15, in which he spoke about the figure of the popular Basque poet
Pedro de Enbeita, of whom he sang some verses.
He highlighted how Enbeita, as well as an inspired artist, was one of the most effective spokespersons for!
basque national movement
Two days later, on November 17, the festival of San Miguel was celebrated in Euskal Erria, as every year.
The events, which took place at the Parque Hotel, lasted from one in the afternoon until well after nine at
night. As on previous occasions, the festivity allowed choirs, groups of poxpolinas, spinners, dantzaris and
txistularis to rehearse. He
The event, organized by the society's youth committee, was headed by Celia Álvarez Mouliá, wife of the
President of the Republic Juan José Amezaga and Maria Ana Bidegarai Janssen.
Finally, on the 18th of the same month, the last celebration before the start of the Basque week took place.
This time the event consisted of a meeting of the heads of the event at Radio El Espectador in Montevideo,
each of whom, received by the director of the station, Dr. Caporale Scelta, gave a brief speech on various
aspects of the events to be held at to start on November 30, after Je e.itox two preparatory acts and a
series of talks on the radio, held daily and some of which included the Basque doctors Aldasoro and
Amezaga and the Uruguayans Gorrín, Zorrilla de San Martín, Mochó and Zubillaga; Mr. Iguain and Mr.
Telletxea and Mrs. Mana Ana Bidegaray de Jansen, María Luisa ¡riharne de Batlle ¡ierres, Dr.
Cciceres and Engineer Garmendia, we entered the b week arbitrarily so called, since it began on October
30 to be closed on November 1344''.
On November 27, the first travelers from various parts of America began to disembark in the port of
Montevideo to attend and participate in the events of the Basque Week. In addition to the hundreds of
young people from the Basque centers Laurak fía!, Euzko Txokoa and Acción Vasca de Buenos Aires as
txistularis, dantzaris, members of various choirs, representatives of the different Basque centers from the
continent also arrived day by day at the Uruguayan capital. The visitors were received by groups of
txislularis, dantzaris and escorted by the group of Mikeletes from the Euskal Erria to the society's
headquarters on Calle San José, so the arrival of the travelers became a festive and colorful act of the
Basque Week. Especially emotional was the reception of the ship Washington, which, coming from Buenos
Aires, arrived at the port of Montevideo hours later, on November 30, with dozens of young txistularis,
dantzaris and members of the Laurak Bal. The Kepa brothers, Bonifacio and Jaime Aretxabala from Chile,
witnesses of this reception in the port of Montevideo, wrote in the Euzkadi magazine of Santiago, The Great
Week of Basque Culture! Triumph for its organizers, and an enduring tribute to the Basque Country! The
whole of Montevideo was in the street, to applaud the passage of the "dantzaris", "emakumes", orfeonistas,
"dantzaris txikis", in short, everything that reminds us of those great parties that were held in such a beloved
homeland in times of bonanza
All the acts without exception aroused the attention of the media; However, after the arrival of the
delegations from Argentina and Chile, the headlines in the newspapers grew exponentially. "Tonight there
will be a great Basque folklore show in the Sodre44íi in honor of the first magistrate", announced the
newspaper La Razón44"1, in a headline that included six of its eight columns; "With regional costumes and
singing sweet songs from the land , the Basque Delegation arrived from Buenos Aires", added the same
newspaper in its inside pages; "They are coming to meet in Montevideo. A large contingent of Basques
arrived this morning", it announced, also in six columns and with a profusion of photographs. El Diario ;
"The festivities of the Basque Cultural Week began successfully", reported El Plata in its October 31 edition;
"The inaugural festivities of the Basque Week gave rise to singularly colorful acts", inserted La Tribuna
Popular that same day And so, day after day, the main newspapers in the Uruguayan capital covered the
event with true enthusiasm, although, of course, there would be discordant notes.
On Saturday, November 30, the events of the Basque Week began, as we have indicated above. The date
was chosen to commemorate the approval of the law abolishing the Basque privileges, a symbol of the loss
of the country's liberties and its incorporation into the Spanish state. At 6:30 p.m. the Basque art exhibition
was inaugurated at the Museum of Fine Arts of Montevideo
with the assistance of the president of the nation, Juan José Amezaga, the interior minister Juan José
Carbajal and the president of the supreme court of justice and of the honor commission of the Basque
Week Julio Guaní. After hearing the Uruguayan and Basque anthems, the Lagun Onak choir sang the
Gernikako arbola. Then Julio Garra and María Ana Bidegarai Janssen, respectively presidents of the
male and female organizing committees of the Basque Week, officially opened the exhibition and, with it,
the celebration of the Basque Week itself. Julio Garra expressed in his speech the sense of the initiative,
that everyone sees in this magnificent Basque Cultural Week that begins today, e! germ of new and vast
companies and that the Basques will always be, as they have been throughout the centuries, a living
lesson in austerity. May they live in this hospitable and pleasant land of Uruguay - an oasis of peace and
blessing - more united than ever, maintaining our traditions inspired by the highest love and the deepest
fraternity.
Almeida Pintos, director of the education department, then read the speech by the education minister
Adolfo Folie Joanicó, followed by speeches by José Urbano Aguirre, president of the Argentine Basque
Pro-immigration Committee, and José Iruretagoyena452. Urbano Aguirre spoke about the Basques
throughout history and their presence in America, ending his exposition with a few words about the
virtues of the Basque people, we love the Basques not only because we revere our ancestors: we love
them because we know of their self-sacrifice and of! stimulus that signifies for the young peoples the
adherence and affection of the ancient races.
We love them because they have taught us by their example to defend freedom and dignity, which is
ultimately a shining page of Spain and France, often confused with ours. because we feel the pain of
their misfortunes and participate in the emotion of their joys, because when we turn our eyes to! old
continent, where faith and optimism fail, our absorbed pupils collect those paintings full of light that the
poet of this land, Julio Herrera y Reissig, parades in the prodigy of Basques. We love them in reality and
in dreams and it even seems that we always saw them as in the triplets chiseled by your poet:
Whether it dances or laughs, whether it roars or sings. In the fight or in the brawl, nobody dares to be
rude. No one rules such a noble rebellion as he! basque And about that lionic majesty that borders him
His beret of courage bursts! Like helmet. That I had the tassel as a lit wick!
José Iruretagoyena spoke about the meaning of the Basque fueros from the legal and political
perspectives, ending his exposition with a petition addressed to the president of Euskal Erria, January 1, 1944.
The choice made by the organizers is curious, since Iruretagoyena not only sympathized with the
l'ranquista uprising, but was also a member of the fascist organization Unión nacional Española de
Montevideo. of the republic present there, the Basques, gentlemen, do not conceive of a healthy, pure
mida. pure, vigorous, honest and promising, without associating it in its spirit with the traditional procerity
of oak.
That is why the fortress of the jungles symbolizes the glory of its democratic institutions, and that is why I
am also sure, Mr. President, that you would betray your uncle at this moment, telling him that they
fervently yearn for you to provide the country with a government that has something of the oak, strong as
its flame, start eating its shadow, pure as its morning effluvia and adhered to the law as its roots a soil
With a tour of the exhibition, the act was considered closed at 20:30. As has been said, the exhibition
brought together a total of 200 works of art including oil paintings, watercolors, drawings, sculptures,
ceramics and even old pieces of Basque furniture. The show included works
by authors of the stature of Arturo Acebal Idígoras, Juan de Aranoa, Bienabe Artia, Ramiro Arrue, Néstor
Bazterretxea, José de Bikandi, Mauricio Flores Kaperotxipi, Juan León de Cruzalegui, Nicolás de Mújica,
Olasagasti. Ángel Cabanas Oteiza, Félix Pascual, Clemente Salazar Echeverría, the Zubiaurre brothers,
Ignacio Zuloaga, A. Ituarte Pagoaga, Adolfo Apoila and Gustavo de Maeztu
An hour later, at 9:45 p.m., the act in honor of President Amezaga began at the SODRB. Also present on
this occasion were Juan José Amezaga himself, Julio Guani, Juan José Carbajal Victorica and the Minister
of Education Adolfo Folie Joanicó. The President attended the anointing from its beginning to the end,
already at dawn, giving constant signs of approval and repeating some numbers to the pleasure that he
showed. (...) The theater seemed completely full of spectators who fervently applauded the popular songs
and dances from the different regions of Euzkadi that were interpreted by artists who number around 220
and are, for the most part, political refugees. After the interpretation of a repertoire of Basque songs by the
choirs Laurak Bat and Lagun Onak, performances by various groups of txislularis and dantzaris from
different Basque centers in Montevideo itself, Buenos Aires or other parts of the American continent took
place. They performed and danced, among other pieces, the masquerade and the famous Ezpatadantza
from the opera Amaia by Jesús Guridi,
The country's press as a whole echoed the event the next day, said the writer D. Adolfo de Larrañaga, "the
orchestra braids its lace and the polyphony as a whole weaves the reason that is present. The txistu sounds
and there they leave the heroes in this second act of Guridi's colossal opera "Amaya". There is an emotional
silence in the room, no one imagines that some names whose costumes have the patina of centuries and
the pattern of wolves, can dance like this. The event ended at one in the morning.
In line with what was mentioned in the previous chapter, undoubtedly spurred on by the Francoist legation,
some media such as La Mañana or El Diario did not hesitate to criticize some aspects of the different
events. Thus, for example, the newspaper La Mañana in its edition of the 31st, referring to the show that
had been carried out the night before in the SODRE Auditorium Study, said. minor art mostly, belonging to
folklore, is what said group offered us. Minor art formed by songs and dances and interpreted with more will
'The Uruguayan press published extensive extracts from the speeches: specifically El Piala offered on
October 2, in its entirety, the one offered by José Irurclagoyena "That the trunk returns to the trunk and the
root to the root" of about six typed pages in length.
The Spanish delegate Aguiar was obliged to send a telegram to Madrid on November 3, hiding as best he
could the political charge that the act oozed from all sides, started Week called Basque arrived Basque
delegations Argentina Chile made up about 300 people among which Ramón Mana Aldasoro. Until now, it
has programmed events that take place in an environment that, even having a background of separatism,
excludes all demonstrations and stridencies of a political nature. President of. the Republic presided over
the inauguration of the exhibition, paintings by Basque painters, authorities assisted in folkloric
performances. Series of conferences that begin today refer to Basque music, law, art, etc.
On Sunday, October 31, the celebration of the high mass took place in the cathedral of Montevideo. Fathers
Emilio Agirrezabal, Ignacio Ari/timuño and Pedro Goikoetxea officiated. It was a sung mass. The hymns
and songs were performed by the Lagun Onak choir and the Laurak Bat txistuiaris and dancers offered a
short repertoire of Basque dances ending the act with an Aurresku. With Juan P. Fabini, mayor of
Montevideo, at the helm, those there
assembled walked the path between the cathedral and the Plaza de la Independencia on foot under the
ikurriña and the flag of the republic, at the exit of the mass, the attendees, preceded by the happy
txistuiaris and a group of young people who marched dancing through The streets of the city (a spectacle
never seen here and witnessed by the people with total sympathy), went to the Plaza de la Independencia
where the homage to the Artigas took place. The choirs - some one hundred and fifty voices - accompanied
by the Montevideo municipal band, performed the Uruguayan and Basque hymns
' .
Arriving at the foot of the monument, Ramón M" Aldasoro and Jaime Anexábala, representatives of the
delegations of Argentina and Chile, made a crying offering. The band of the Military School of Uruguay
and the band of the city council played the hymns of Euskadi e Uruguay and the Lagun Onak choir sang
the Gernikako arbola by José María Iparragirre.Then Rodolfo Uorriti spoke about the privileges of
Bizkaia.The act closed with a spectacle of Basque dances, fandango and jotas.After the banquet, at 6:00
p.m.: 00 the musical show took place at the SODRE once again by the Lagun Onak and Laurak Bat choirs
accompanied by the txistuiaris and danlzaris bands.Afterward, dinner was held at the Euskal Erria society
in honor of the delegates, where they could also listen again the guests to the choirs and bands of the
various Basque-American centers.
On the first of November, at 11:00 in the morning, the tribute to Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, founder of
Montevideo, took place. The Lagun Onak and Laurak Bat choirs congregated in the Zabala square of the
capital, as well as the bands of txistuiaris and dantzaris who, from the Euskal Erria society to the place of
the act, made their way through the streets of the city to the sound of the various Basque melodies
escorted by the Mikeletcs.
There, Bingen Ametzaga spoke about "the Basque Zabala", Bruno Mauricio de Zabala: we all owe him a
lot. Montevideo its existence: Uruguay its capital: America one of its most beautiful cities; the world has a
magnificent port; the Basques, your compatriots, a warm and endearing home that has welcomed and
continues to welcome the Basques with a special love that only with special love can we Basques pay
for. Rébolo Botto, on behalf of the city council, thanked the Basque-Uruguayan community and the
Basques from other American states for organizing this act while highlighting the great Basque heritage
in America, we recognize something else: the city is indebted to the sons of the Basque Country of many
plausible efforts, creators of social wealth and builders of an ethical heritage, integrates collective morality.
In Basque immigration, produced in the last century and the beginning of the present, the existence of a
human current dedicated to work, which has lived with marked dignity, the principles that govern social
organization, must be recognized. (...) Let's hope that the triumph of the principles that have been so dear
to contemporary humanity, finally allow a happy understanding to the community of nations, thus ending
the common vicissitudes'".
Immediately afterwards, a group of dantzari txikis offered the aurresku while the little ones paraded in
typical costumes in front of the monument di: Zabala41'1. At 18:00 the Lagun Onak choir performed the
High Mass in A Flat by Franz Schubert at the SODRE theater. Dora Pockorny, Sara César, Carlos
Rodríguez and Horacio Ganzález were the soloists and maestro Luis Mallea conducted the Montevideo
orchestra. Like the others, the act had an immense echo in the capital's press.
On October 2, Hubertina Gomensoro gave a talk on the descendants of Bruno Mauricio Zabala on the El
Espectador radio station. lira on Tuesday, the day of rest, for which reason no public events took place,
however, in addition to the aforementioned broadcast conference, various events were held to pay
homage to Itis guests, Argentines and Chileans. The delegations were received by the nation's president,
Juan José Amezaga, and were later offered a lively banquet
The words of Rodolfo Gorriti and Jaime Aretxabala began the banquet. After it, Joxe Mari Lasarte and Bingen
Ametzaga offered, out of protocol, a series of Basque songs to those gathered there, Mr. Lasarte and Dr.
Amezaga, upon request, delighted us with their emotional songs, full of racial spirit, that moved us intimately""*2.
In a certain sense the act had a lot to do with the family since the Chilean delegate. Jaime Aretxabala Piñaga,
like his wife Felisa Aspiazu, were both neighbors of Algorín and distant relatives of Bingen Ametzaga. both
descendants of María Manuela Piñaga Muxika (1779} and Juana Francisca Piñaga Muxika (1792-).
On October 3 at 6:30 p.m., the first of the lectures that would open the series of conferences that would
culminate in the celebration of the Great Basque Week in Montevideo, was given at the Museum of Fine Arts,
by Bingen Ametzaga. Thurs a study of individual, economic-social, religious and political liberties as derived
from the Basque codes and various historical events.
In the end, the speaker highlighted that a few days ago it had been 104 years since a treacherous and deadly
blow had been applied to those liberties that. We harbor the firm hope -said the orator- as the purest and most
ancient of the world will be restored.'! when, with the next triumph of democracies, a regime of justice and
freedom is established on earth. The room was full of people who showed, with their repeated applause, their
identification with the speaker
The following day, at the same time and in the same place, José Pedro Zubillaga spoke about the meaning of
Basque Week, he collected several of the concepts expressed the day before by Dr. Amezaga, above all, the
loss of Basque liberties and the inexhaustible yearning for recovery of the same that encourages among the
Basques. He ended by stating that when the day, now near, to do justice to Euskadi arrives, the voice of
Uruguay will be heard, cordial and strong in its favor. was very applauded
On October 8, Francisco Madina's dissertation on various aspects of Basque music took place. The Basque
musician Father Madina, a refugee Basque priest, gave a beautiful conference on Basque music. The inspired
performances on the piano by the speaker himself, as well as the songs by the soloist Mr. Torcida and the choir
by maestro Mújica that illustrated his lecture, brought the charms of unique and beautiful Basque music to the
heart of the audience.
On the 11th and 13th, Enrique José Mochó, president of the Euskal Lima society, and the art critic José España
gave lectures on the Basque educational system and Basque art, respectively. With this, the cycle of
conferences was considered closed. In the subsequent act, held on the same day, October 13, Julio Garra
concluded the acts of the Great Basque Week, constituting, in short, a deep vibration and a splendid
manifestation of the Basque spirit that flourishes with a renewed vigor of its old trunk. Flowering that is sure
announcement of seasoned fruits of culture and freedom that we hope with joy and confidence "'
The events ended with a dinner at the Euskal Erria society. Nevertheless. the conclusion of the Basque Week
opened the doors to a new stage in the institutional relations of the Basque delegation and, with it, the
Government of Euskadi itself, with the Uruguayan government; and, through this cooperation, a new social,
political and cultural cycle of the Basque community in Montevideo and in the whole of Uruguay, if the
The support of the Uruguayan people has been ostensible, as shown by the fact that all the available
seats were sold in the three performances held and as demonstrated by the sympathy with which the
Basque dancers and singers* were looked at and applauded as they passed through the streets and, the
select and numerous public that filled the premises of the painting
exhibition every afternoon (it must be noted that almost all the artists were exiles}.
It must also be stated that in the official spheres we have found an atmosphere not of mere courtesy, but
of frank emotional warmth. Beginning with the President of the Republic in whom Basque blood has
vibrated as it could not have been less, we must mention the President of the High Court of Justice Dr.
Julio Guaní who, as we indicated, was also the Honorary President of the Basque Week. The Ministers of
Instruction, Interior. Guerra and others attended the various events.
Outstanding is the valuable collaboration of the first speaker of the Republic, Dr. Irureta Goyena and the
mayor of Montevideo Engineer Fabini.
We remember the introducer of ambassadors Dr. Yeregi, e! professor of constitutional law Dr.
Jiménez de Arechaga, writers Mrs. Sahai Ercasíy. Oribe, Zorrilla de San Martín, in a list that would be
endless
Index of what was written and published by Bingen Ametzaga during the months of October, November
and December 1943 in the Uruguayan press.
Publication Title