Because Elcano was an armed arm in favor of Castile. Elkano was not a humanist. Elcano was not the symbol of the Basque maritime heritage. Elkano was not a model trader or precursor of our industry who want to show us on the occasion of the centenary.

Elkano was a conqueror. Elcano was the inquisition. Elcano was the captain of those who steer everything they find on their way. Thousands of people died and hundreds of women were raped. He was the head of the expedition, who stole the belongings of others and left the storms. Oppressor. Loyal precursor to the military, the army and the present Spain.

It makes no sense to say ‘Elkano yes, but not military’, as some friends do in the Getaria area. If we want to reclaim the real Basque maritime heritage, we cannot just show what we like. To pay tribute to Elkano, which is a tribute to all the values of the Spanish army and military. You can't understand one without the other.

It's time to turn the story written by the assassins around. It's time to become the real mirror of what they did on the fifth centenary. We have to turn Elkano around. All those who murdered and raped them deserve truth and memory. They were trampled underfoot by the peoples.

All the values, colors, struggles and demands that the twenty-first century has shown us to revolutionize and understand the world are not compatible with continuing to honor Elkano. If we look at the past very carefully, we mortgage the future with models and values that we don't like.

By the way, Elcano and others were not the first to turn the world around the seas. That too is a lie. But that’s another thing…

Supplementary information on:

· Elkano, the life of the sea (Txalaparta, 2008).