Every four years in Getaria the Elcano landing organizes a popular theater with great citizen participation. They have done so since 1922, coinciding with the celebration of the 4th Centenary of the World Tour, with the presence of the Kings of Spain, Alfonso XIII and Victoria Eugenia, in Getaria.

Normally in early August it is held within the patron saint festivities. To give a more historical touch to the 2022 edition, it was moved to September 6, coinciding with the arrival of the Sanlúcarrera de Elcano Cádiz, although what is represented in the landing was the arrival of the Victoria to Seville on September 8, 1522. In any case, the essence of the work is: Taking Getaria as Sevilla, 18 blind men come down from a sailboat that makes Nao Victoria and, like the zombies, head to the church to thank the Christian god. Later, Elcano, dressed as a courtier, goes to the Spanish Emperor Carlos I among the applause of the crowd, surrounded by five women representing the five continents, until 2018, as proof of the return to the world. The African representative is painted in black with feathers, the European dressed as a queen, and stereotypes like this predominate. Elcano informs Emperor Charles I that, in addition to being the first to turn around the world, he loves to warn him that “his kings and lords have passed on his dependence to the king of Spain.” Then Elcano heads to the city hall and receives the honor of his people to the local and Gipuzkoan authorities, while singing Gora Elkano.

Seen from the outside, someone could think of Getaria, where most citizens are nationalists and vasophiles, if they live in contradiction the submission and honor of the Spanish emperor to the landing. But there's no such feeling. The popular theater is very interiorized between the Getaria and the disguised participation of Oceania, Elcano or America is usually considered an “honour”. ETB1 has released the work live and in 2018 the then-mayor of Getaria stated that the landing is an exciting and special day for the Getaria, and that it is up to us “for the descendants to also know what the son of Getaria had done.”

Landings have not always been carried out in Getaria. For example, in 1948, under Franco, they were held in the port of San Sebastian, and in 1992 some getaria travelled to the Expo, guarded by 12,000 policemen, and represented the landing in Seville, coinciding with the official celebrations of the 5th Centenary of the “discovery of America”, in which millions of people and hundreds of peoples were fighting these humiliating celebrations.

Many changes over the past four years

In the 2018 edition the government of EH Bildu introduced a number of changes in the nature of the landing. For example, one difference that the feminist movement has criticized is that women could only perform the representation of the continents, that all other roles were performed by men. In 2018, for the first time, women were able to participate as continental representatives, landowners and accompanying bodies, after tens of years of marginalization. And on the other hand, men were also able to act as representatives of the continents. The roles of historical characters — Elcano and crew members — however, can still only be interpreted by men. The second change was the selection by drawing lots. In the past, the organizers chose who to do and often passed the responsibility of one relative to another.

New changes have been added to the 2022 edition. So far, 18 men were coming down from the boat, although 21 men actually returned on board. The other three are “citizens of origin” who have left the official stories unnamed. These three “indigenous” have been incorporated for the first time into the work, and the five continents have been made by groups that have not been represented by a single person, but have added Elkano’s mother to “put on the table his work, his skill and his knowledge”. This year’s edition will be held under the motto One Lap, 100 Worlds and has added more significant changes. For example, Artzape has gathered that "they will represent the indigenous people of the world of the time to represent the journey of Elcano, the Patagonian Americans, the indigenous people of Cape Verde in Africa…", and they will radically change the final fragment, thus eliminating the praise of King Carlos V in front of the Elcano monument and using this space to "pay tribute to Elcano and represent a plural world."

In short, those who land and honor at Getaria are the men at the orders of the Spanish Emperor who survived Seville after three years of experience in the world. But Seville was not the only landing made by Elcano and others. Most landings were not collected between applause and alive, and one of them is the one they represent at another end of the world: In Mactan, Philippines.

Resistance to honorees

Dozens and dozens of citizens participate in a multitudinous theatre based on music and dance on the coast of the island of Mactan. What they are staging is that on April 27, 1521, Elcano's crew landed on the island, they were punished, they were killed, they refused to submit to them. But the fighting did not go out to the Europeans and, in addition to murdering several Elcano armers, Captain Magellan was killed. This victory and the first original citizens who faced the European colonizers are those who represent and, above all, pay tribute to the Filipinos in that new landing. It is the highlight of the event, as are the recent epic struggles between the good and the evil protagonist in Hollywood films, the confrontation between Magellan and Lapu-Lapu. The final point is clear: With Magellan disarmed on the ground, the hero of the Philippines kills with swords, between the screams and applause of the population. Then they dance to celebrate victory.

Today, in Mactan, the “triumph against colonial power” is celebrated. The 500th anniversary events have focused on “indigenous resistance” against European colonizers in the Philippines. Once again, everyone builds and pays tribute to their heroes based on their interests and perspectives. But what aspects of history are we perpetuating here?