11 hours in verses
On October 27, Saturday, the bertso eskolas of Álava will celebrate the 30th anniversary of their birth, which is a holiday. As explained to us by Asier Lafuente, promoter of Arabako Bertsozale Elkartea, “with those 11 hours we wanted to represent abundance and take the bertso out into the street and into society.”
The seed of the Bertso eskolas was sown in 1982 in Vitoria (bar Txusta) and in Ayala (restaurant Tunel de Areta). After 30 years the groups working on bertsolarism in Álava have multiplied: In total, 190 people come together in 29 groups. In regulated education, 2,200 boys and girls learn Bertsolarism in 41 schools.
In the initiative 11 hours in bertsos, the public will be able to enjoy all kinds of actions. The appointment will be at 11:00 hours in the Centro Amaia, the seat of the Association of Bertsozales of Álava. One of the founders of the Bertso Eskolas, Patxi Aizpurua, will sing the beginning greeting of Aste Nagusia. Then, taking advantage of the fact that Vitoria-Gasteiz is the green capital of Europe, the green verses elaborated by the bertso eskolas, of all the shades of “green” (ecological, sexual, police...) will be sung.
Then, Bertxorakeriketa (Bertxorakeriketa) will leave a pub in the bar. The bertsolaris who have signed up will know by lot which bar and before which bertsolari they will sing, defending themselves and laying down their peers. They will be fights for five minutes, on a free subject. There are already 14 Bertsolaris who have registered, among others, Irati Anda, Juan Mari Juaristi, Iker Olabarrieta, Ainara Balanciategi and Asier Iriondo...
At noon there will be a meal at the sports club El Campillo and at the table the end of Bertxorakeriketa will be played with all kinds of exercises.
The Bertsodantzaplaza de El Campillo Square, a very successful initiative in Álava, will be held early in the afternoon. Lautada Jotafa's Bertsolaris School Charanga, which will play dance music, will mark the rhythm in bertsos of the hand of Oihane Perea and Izar Mendiguren. Thanks to animator Gorka Urturi, attendees will be able to learn different dance steps.
Starting at 19:00 hours, for the first time, a batukada of bertsos will be held on Kutxi Street. Iñaki Viñaspre and Iker Pastor, trained in Rap, will improvise at the rhythm of batukada on Saturday at the Bizkaia fronton.
At 20:30 a.m., the Jimmy Jazz Gala will be celebrated as a tribute to the Bertso eskolas. Serapio López and Zigor Enbeita, pioneers of the Bertso eskolas in Tolosa, will be in charge of pronouncing the initial greeting. Rubén Sánchez will conduct a monologue on the Basque and the Bertso, and the programme will bring together the bertsolaris of Álava and those of other territories that have been related to it. Each bertsolaris school will have a representative who will go onstage to pick up a small tribute.
From 22:30 a.m., it will be the turn of Jimmy Jazz Bertso Tavern. As they have offered
on more than one occasion, Manex Agirre, Ander Solozabal and Jagoba Apaolaza will sing with music irlandesa.Asier Lafuente, immersed in the organization, has invited him to participate in this special day “30 years are not accomplished every year, and Bertsolarism in Álava is the stimulus of the Basque Country, a function he continues to do today”.
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