In Ortzaize we had an appointment with Peio Berterroz, in the Baja Navarra, in the library Mint, nest of the literature of the interior of Ipar Euskal Herria. Even though we are full of people, not to be happy, we have had to change our place. As soon as we sat down, we started a passionate talk about the Ride and the Dialogues of today, where we share opinion and criticism.

With the ignition of the recorder, we have asked you to present the theatre plays that are currently alive in Iparralde. “There are four main forms today,” Berterriz replied, listing: Pastoral, Horseback riding, Masked and Libertinage. Known in the Basque Country, especially from the Bidasoa. “The Masquerade and Libertinage are some of the rites of carnivals, while the Cabalgata and the Pastoral are summer shows.”

There are no big differences in forms. For example, the Cabalgata will be the calca of the carnivals' rite. Antton Lukuk is the Basque artistic drama, as it is a dance, theatre, bertsolarism, singing and braided music.

The Cabalgata and the Pastoral are local in character and are carried out approximately every ten or twenty years by a people. Libertinage, on the other hand, is done by the young people of the people every year, in carnivals. Berterriz explains: “It will be more exercise of freedom to show places of power, to denounce, to mock. That is what it means to do in Yhauteri. We replenish ourselves for another year, so the tabula rasa, brings the chaos, and then bring the order. We're always on that symbolism. The masquerade has the same function, translated in another way, but the same things are seen; the civilized rise up against the forests.”

As Berterriz explains in his thesis, the square theatres come from pre-industrialized society. The forms have changed a lot: The rural areas of the 19th century were semi-autarchic communities in which the production of vital needs was closely ensured, both in the hamlet and in the neighborhood. “I was far from going from one town to another, a long time,” says Berterriz. And this way of living influenced, of course, the way of thinking. “These communities were very important. They ensured each other's survival. For example, to make herbs, I needed the neighbors.” That is, they maintained strong relationships with neighbors and the community was not a vague feeling of belonging, but a condition of survival. There was collective coordination of the work. What is more, Berterriz says in his thesis: “In pre-capitalist society, the community was the geographical, cognitive, social and material horizon.”

Similarly, in a society in which the survival of each of them depended on the other, the attitudes that make up modern individualism today were unthinkable. Control or regulation is also understood as: “Because of the need of the community, you’re not going to start doing anything. And when I was starting to do anything, the community had tools to regulate it." Individual attitudes affected the community, so the community had its system of sanctions, for example, that social function the verses could play: “As in justice, he is graduated, a small mistake, a small regulation; a big mistake, a great regulation.”

The antecedents of the current
theatrical squares were part of that popular justice, and they were called xaribariak. The Xaribaris belonged to the matrimonial system, along with Christianity, from the moment the concept of marriage was developed. They were produced throughout the European rural area.

Once again, Bereterretxek brings us to the social form of the time: “Marriage is not a love story, at the time two production forces joined together. Two houses, two families, two producers. The survival of the community was at stake and it was the case that some did not respect the norms of the community.”

There was a scandal. Usually an older widow was married for the second or third time to a young man. The criminal justice system was, as has already been said, progressive. In the first place, they were made at night: young and single people come to the person's home, with donkeys, censuses or canes, snoring, they also had funny. The authors of the award were single young people, still excluded from economic and political power in the society of the time. The culprits were not silent until they had paid with money or wine. But if I refused to pay, the next criminal phase was to make Tobera-munstra. It was the greatest punishment, the strongest punishment, of the lambs. It was made day by day, in the town square, and the neighboring towns were invited. The protagonists had to be among the spectators during the trial: “It’s a fake case, but real names are thrown away, and it’s a horrific violent, because selling is a public humiliation.”

Later, in the 19th century, Berterretxe has also included in his thesis vestiges of enchantments on other subjects. For example, as Xabier Itzaina mentions, against the Church or against the mayor. In most cases, the authors were young people from humble trades.

But soon there was change, with industrialization. With the advent of transport and cities, society changed dramatically. In other words, they used to produce in the villages what they needed. Berterretxe has explained that from industrialization its productions will be adapted both for sale and for the market. Therefore, there was no longer so much dependence on the community and it could escape. “As French power has spread throughout Baiona to every corner, you can go out and enter more easily; it’s both ways.”

Basically, the change in the form of production brings with it cultural changes. The priests and mayors began to say that the Tatars were barbarians. “Another morality takes the place of the former,” says Berterriz, and delves: "The intrusion into the private lives of others is perceived as violent, because there is no longer a previous community".

Transformation of cultural practices “We
cannot conceive this society of the time. Cultural practices were not like today for oneself, for pleasure,” he explains. You can also see it outside Europe in other societies. Cultural practices were part of production, such as dance, which was used to set the pace at work, against insects. Juan Antonio Urbeltz states that in the Neolithic, when man became sedentary, the great enemy became insects and dances were the means to avoid them. The bugs were conjuring themselves, making them appear at the time of the dance, so they didn't appear to destroy the harvest. Or, on the contrary, through the dances, the insects were called, the rain ...

With the change of social form, cultural practices were transformed, and the dances of the time, Tobera-munstra and Xaribariak were not spectacular: “Today, Basque dance is seen above the stage, it becomes spectacular. Over time, they have gone from a social tool to a cultural product.” And that also entails content changes, according to Berterretxe: “We will account for the quality of the dance, the level of the rod game, what is said... It must be loved by as many people as possible, so it must not be too strong to bring people together.”

From that moment onwards, countless paths will be followed. “The first thing that happens is that dance is imposed, it’s a good dance, because nobody talks.” On the one hand, dance shows will be offered and only the parade and the dances of the plaza will be maintained. On the other hand, you will also see plays made with fictional themes, such as Kabalkadas without thematic. And
there is another area, which the abertzales will do political theater. It is the time of the armed struggle, in Ipar Euskal Herria the tourism development takes place instead of agriculture, SEASKA is created, radios, cooperatives, the new Basque song, Ez Dok Amairu and Guk... In the development of the Basque conscience, youth regains the theatre to disseminate political ideas. Several people will work as writers and theatre bearers: Daniel Landart, Antton Luku, Kristiane Etxaluz, Mattin Irigoien, Pantzo Hirigarai and Gillom Hirigoien, among others.

You can take as an example the famous Iholdi's Tobera. In 1974, in Iholdi there was a very painful subject: the village house wants to build an artificial lake for tourists around an eihera. The Abertzales adopted a form of local theater to condemn an attitude that compromised the community: “The political or economic attitude that puts the Basque community at risk is condemned.” In Iholdi, Baigorri and Amikuze, such political Toberas would be celebrated. “There is a theme that invokes the plaza, that is the most particularity when compared to the current Kabalkada.”

Berterriz explains that today he doesn't call us a theme to the plaza. The celebration calls us to meet and then we start looking for themes. He asked with concern: “If you do not invoke a theme to the plaza, what have you come to, what to say, what to mention? If there is no subject that we manipulate the word publicly and we have to build a speech, we don’t know what to say or what, it’s problematic.”

Of all these
questions, Berterretxe has analyzed the functions of the Ride today, based on the Lekorne Horseback. He concludes that the main function of the Ride is to do something together: “In today’s society we are extremely individualistic, we live in a very atomized way. All of a sudden, the whole people will start to come together every weekend to make a fuss. It has a great value to do one thing together. Perhaps there is also a place of resistance, I mean, in a hyper-individualistic world, where each one puts his personal strength in a collective and common project.”

Motivation is eminently social. Berterrde also knew before carrying out the investigation: “I wanted to investigate to what extent this was the case and whether there were other motivations. These previous motivations, for example, denouncing a power, or some identity functions, over the Basque Country and so on, still existed, and existed to what extent”.

In the sample of the authors of the Kabalkada de Lekorne, 80% declared themselves Basque, 15% declared themselves Basque and only 5% were Castilian speaking. Berterriz made it clear: “It is not a replacement for the situation we have in our peoples. I thought that, being that profile, perhaps there would be other motivations, or that some motivations would appear clearly linked to that profile”. Several questions were asked: “If the goal is to meet, how does a people unite with a language that speaks the most minority? The situation in pastoral care is even worse. Seeing the history of Tobera-Munstra and the Ride, with what political objective do they come and meet?” In the study Berterretxe has differentiated motivations into four blocks: social, linguistic, political or identity and personal development.

In the responses of the horseback riding participants, linguistic motivation occupies eighth place, and that has surprised Berterretxe, who being as humble as Basque has been. But in a conflictive diglosic situation, the situation refers to the difficulty of the speakers to understand the places and forms of oppression: “What happens is that we are in a coherent system. We got used to it. We get used to giving Euskara in some places and in others not. After all, it’s fine.” However, it explains what the diglossia entails for the future: “The only two consequences of the diglossia are the disappearance of the oppressed language or the existence of both, but we live in a ghetto.”

The diglosic situation also appears in the Riding Horses, and since there is not enough motivation, most of the time we do not work on language planning within the Kabalkada. Berterriz talks about the connection between the Basque Country and political ideas, and about the conflict that this can bring with it. “The problem is the whole conflict with the Basque Country,” he says, because today the Basque country has “a political colour,” and that is “patriotism.” Some have not transmitted Euskera for that reason. If you mention Euskera and put it in front of it, you see the risk that the conflict will explode again, and Berterretxe wonders why people don't want to do that. “Two questions. One: Why don't they ignite conflict? And the second, if it serves for them the resurgence of conflict. I don’t know if you don’t speak for what, you dismiss a little, although you claim that you want to give a place to the Basque”. His
thesis concluded the lack of enthusiasm for politicization. Among the questions asked, the second lowest motivation among all motivations was: If I take part in the ride, it's to politicize myself and others. Also among the playwrights: “I’ve been surprised, because the theater of the zenta has that position, historically we are satiras in codes. We cannot make satire if we do not understand those forces that are exercised politically in power.”

The third most modest motivation is to mock and criticize public personalities, something that is also humbled by the playwrights. “It is clearly stated here that they do not want to do that satirical function. So the question is, if you don't want to do that, what do you want to do?"

In Berterriz's view, this is a question of spectacularity. “They want to make spectacular. Everyone has expressed it quickly.” In fact, I want to participate in a cultural act that people are encouraged to remember is motivation that has been shown in the first place. “They want to do the best they can. The introduction of contemporary dances is beginning to work in pastoral women, in order to generate impact, dancers as much as possible. A theater as visual as possible, going everywhere, great things ... And on the issues, we'll be in comedy. We are not going to go too far to scratch and raise the truly painful, because they are the people of the people.”

It tells us about the lack of critique of those involved in those internal power and force games: “In distractions, young people are a little out, they are not yet in that active world, and they have a pistolera like this. Therefore, they smoke.” But in the Cabalgatas, older, Berterriz explains that the participants have a social place in the village and that they want to strengthen that space. “They do not come here to lose things, but to gain one thing. Don’t take too much risk.” He warns
that it is done for the people, but that there is no real people anymore: “Communities melted in time, our peoples are melted, our people are finite.” He argues that the places of socialization have diminished or disappeared and that the people no longer live as a people.

In this situation it refers to the role played by the Ride: “Horseback riding gives that illusion of creating a country. It seems like a feeling again, that we make a people. We want to unite the people.” He says that more and more peoples disappear, more and more Kabbalads become, as Antton Lukuk has explained about Libertimento (see video: Antton Luku: Fun, between roots and changes.)

Finally, we have focused on the
differences with the South and the importance of amateur practices in Iparralde. “Professionals do not make Basque culture live. I don’t want to see three spectacular a year; I want to have a theater group in the village or a dance group.” Looking south, he says that you don't have to leave culture in the hands of professionals. “They make products, and it’s normal, it’s their profession. And great products are made. But we give another role to culture and art.”

On the other hand, he stresses that professionalism is not necessarily linked to quality or artistic proposal: “Professionals do not advance things by artistic necessity.” Professionalisation involves delegation, on the one hand, the realisation of the practice and culture of culture; and on the other hand, the risk is that professionalisation will operate with subsidies. He has made a third point: “And the problem with subsidies is that we put our culture in the hands of the institutions and that intervention imposes upon us the subjugation and subordination of those institutions.” It stresses that these institutions maintain the oppression of culture and language.

Anyway, in Hego Euskal Herria you can also see the practice of popular theater. The Pastoral Care of the Non-Citizens Who Saw the Last Time: “Julia Fernández has been one of the shepherds of Pamplona who has contributed the most to my form, to the artistic and to the formal”.

Finally, like that of Iruin, he invites to host, adapt and disseminate these square plays: “What they’ve done at Iruinko is an example. They've taken and adapted libertinage to their social and linguistic context, they've done it in their salsa, and it's great."