One July Soto but at the same time three?

I was born in Pamplona and I live here, but my father is from a small town in the valley of Guesálaz, of Irurre, and my mother of Gorriti. Up to 15-16 weekends and holidays were divided between the two. In recent years I have had more tendency towards Gorriti by the Basque Country and by the connection with Bertsolarism. There I have learned a lot and I feel there, but in all three I am at ease.

Are you a peasant living in the city?

Since I was a young child, I have lived very united to the world of the farmhouse. They are farmers on the part of the father and farmers on the part of the mother, who raise cows and mares. I am also very fond and spend many hours with the mares. That's my first passion, the livestock world. So I studied Agricultural Engineering, and when I finished my second passion, my fondness for words, it led me to study philology.

Do you look like a farmer in the future?

The biggest dream of my life has been to have a farmhouse and be able to make a living with the mares. A traditional farmhouse: above the cabin, in the center life and below the stable with mares, cows and sheep. That's always been my idyllic dream. More than the industrial farm, I'm drawn to the charm of the farmhouse.

Economically difficult, right?

It's not viable. Either you inherit it it or you can't. And yet, today it's very difficult. I say to myself that it is impossible, but then I see brave young people who are encouraged to do so and I look at them with envy.

The rural world and the Basque world, did you find the way to satisfy your two passions at university?

The truth is, neither in engineering nor in philology did I find what I thought should be. We spent three years in engineering without touching any animal and without stepping wheat and in philology everything was very theoretical. Plenty of Power Point and few stimuli to move your head. They give you or they make you look for information, but today, with so much information in every place, I think the university should be a place to shake the student's consciousness, a place to train intellectually. More practical. And the same thing happens in schools: it's mostly memorization work. The student is not allowed to speak. I believe that in schools there must be more words, more words, more words and more rhetoric. And what to say in Euskal Herria. I relate this educational system to the low level of Euskera here. In the region of Pamplona this is very clear, but unfortunately it has spread to much of the Basque area of Navarre. In Gorriti, in the same town of Larraun, the level of quality of the Basque country has fallen considerably. At school they speak very little and on the few occasions they have to do it, in the diversions, they are thrown in Spanish because they have the habit of doing everything else in Spanish. They don't have the ability or the confidence to speak in Basque. I am at least living it very crudely and I believe that in my school age people spoke better in Pamplona than now. I believe that today model D does not guarantee that you can speak in Basque at an acceptable level. I've seen a lot of people who, after 15 years in model D, at 18, speak with a lot of difficulty. There's a big mistake. The education system in general, and ours in particular, should be a revolution in that direction, because otherwise I believe that from now on we will be very bad.

Can it also be the effect of lifestyle change? Do we have less face-to-face relationships?

Yes. In recent years, there has been less and less talk in households, in families. After dinner there is always a TV in your hands and now there are as many mobiles as there are people on the couch. We live very quiet, looking at screens. In the plaza, children play less and less and the dexterity of speaking is lost. In our case, moreover, the problem is multiplied because from the television we collect almost everything in Spanish.

Is language the medium we have to sort out our thoughts?

Many times when you talk, you realize what you think, what you feel. That happens to me many times through bertsos. I have difficulty speaking, because I find it hard to express my feelings with words, perhaps because I am a little shy, but through the verses, fortunately, I get it. And I think silence is also very important. At least it helps me a lot. In silence, I think things and I find myself. And I would say, because we find it harder and harder to talk, we're getting more and more uncomfortable in silence.

Do the mares help you do that?

Nature, in general, helps me to do that. I look for my inner peace there.

What attracts so many people, and also young people, to the Bertsolarism on which the word is based?

Bertsolarism has that intrinsic fascination: the word. Spontaneous words. I think that magic is attractive. Bertso's ability to create emotions, both to bertsolari and to the public. A lot of things are mixed together, but the result is communication, provoking feelings. One listener told me that in the end he had wept for the first time with some verses. The truth is, it moved me. Nothing more beautiful than smiling or crying a person through your verses or your art.

Is bertsolarism also a tool to change some of society's ideas?

The bertso has its strength. It's a tool of great potential to talk about a lot of issues and to change society, like all forms of art. Bertsolari has the freedom to say what he thinks and bertso has the ability to create some ideas and feelings. A bertso is not going to change society, but we're doing our bit. The other day, for example, we sang in the final about a woman who masturbates for the first time at 70 years old. I think the perception that some listeners have of this topic before and what they have now is not the same, perhaps after that program they can think about what work women have had to give them taste.

Are you the great bertsolaris opinion makers?

There are a lot of people who think a lot, but bertsolari has the advantage that in many situations he has to sing from different roles and he has to necessarily think about some issues. Many times they ask us for opinion because they want to hear our ideas, but bertsolari is no more than anyone and knows no more than anyone. There is a very wrong belief about bertsolaris: that we know a lot about anything, that we are great intellectuals… That’s not true. We're not aliens, and sometimes they value us too much.

In the San Francisco school, in the Casco Viejo, you have two groups in the Bertso eskola and another in the Rochapea, with kids and kids between 10 and 13 years old. How are you doing as a teacher?

I am living some very pleasant sensations, because I see that the children come with a desire to play with the Basque Country and they can also do so. When they're able to do that, they're drawn to it. They want to continue with that magic and that is the first step towards getting them closer to the Basque country. This is the main function of the bertso in the Basque world, especially here in Navarre. I am very pleased with that feeling. That is why I do so with such pleasure.

Your brother's loss marked you in this year's championship. Hard, of course.

Yes, I had serious doubts to continue. At first, I didn't know if I was right or wrong. I also had doubts about my brother's respect. Maybe it was better not to show up. I don't know. And also, I didn't know if I was going to bear the emotions on stage. Every session of the championship has been a terrible struggle with myself and I've felt a lot of emotions. Feeling emotions is a very beautiful thing, even though those emotions are the most painful. At least you feel something. Seeing people with me in the end, laughing, crying… has been amazing. The Bertso has helped me a lot to have a task in these months. It's also helped me release emotions, even if it's not related to the topic. For example, for me singing about a humorous theme was a great challenge in this situation. And getting there, seeing people laughing, has served me a lot. The bertso has helped me find strength inside.

Also, you like humor...

I'm a very funny person. I'm very close to smiling and, above all, taking my hair. Introduction of the rod. Those of you who know me know that. In addition, I think people need to laugh. And the verse is also for that. I think listeners want and need a person who, at the same time, is a big, deep shipyard.

Has that exciting mood changed in recent years in Euskal Herria?

Yes, I would relate it to ease of speaking. In the past, it used to play more with language than it is now, because it costs people more. I would say that society lives more sadly. It lacks some viscosity.

Are we consumers of humor, more than creators?

It may be. People like humor and need to laugh. And creating isn't easy either. What you think here is too velvety your eyes. There is a great tendency to criticise and I would say that especially in the Basque world. Others are waiting for what to do to look for a “but” and this trend has increased dramatically in recent years with the use of social networks. This attitude does not help to create anything. When criticism is constructive, it is welcome, but many times here it becomes destructive.

As in politics?

Politics is also a reflection of that attitude. We are not able to agree to the minimum.

Will there be any change in Navarre in May?

I firmly believe at the moment that change is going to be. Thinking about what might happen if it didn't happen, I shrunk a knot. I hope that the parties that say they are in favour of change will be able to understand each other. I have the biggest question with Podemos, especially because we don't know what it's going to do. Let's see if change of government is a real change. Even if it is mathematically viable, then that change has to be made and for that all the parties will have to give in to something. Let us hope that there will be no setbacks.

What future do you see for the Basque people?

Political change in Navarre is almost vital for the Basque people. The situation of the Basque people here is unthinkable outside Navarre. You can't have a radio license, you can't see ETB, you can't learn Euskera, you can't talk in Euskera in many places, you can't have a culture that's totally shattered... The Bertsozale Association, for example, hangs on an increasingly thin thread, making more and more debts. In Iparralde they share our situation, but others find it difficult to understand what is happening here, despite the serious problems the language has in many other places. I feel that forces are running out of us. We are keen to get things moving, but much more will not last if there is no help. I know it's very sad and some of you won't agree with me, but at least that's what I see around me. Society feels very tired and not only in Navarra. There have been very painful linguistic policies, and in the CAV I also see the Basque in a corner, crushed. A very profound change is needed. Our language is dying all over Euskal Herria and hard action must be taken. You cannot always ask for permission. We can't always think about what it will look like to Castilian speakers to take this or other measure. We have to take Catalonia as a model.