The Navarro Institute of the Basque Vascuence and the Navarre Association of Bertsolaris of Navarre have signed this year an agreement for the development of the Bertsolaris documentation and research programme in Navarre. The agreement will last until 10 November 2022 and will have a budget of EUR 40,000.

The Bertsozale Elkartea Association, following its objective of postponing Bertsozale, bases its activity on documentation and research. Together with the Xenpelar Documentation Center, it works on the collection and documentation of the heritage generated by Bertsolarism, documenting the different acts of Bertsolarism that take place throughout the year (audio and video recordings, photographs, transcriptions,…) and updating biographies related to Bertsolarism. This year the work carried out in Navarre has received recognition and funding from Euskarabidea.

It has also made it possible to carry out a study on the evolution of bertsolarism in the territory. Unai Irigarai Oses is completing this research: “The research focuses on the photography that the Bertsolarism Square of Navarra has had in the last 15 years. Not only to photography, but also to some sociological elements behind that photograph, such as the gender gap, the eruption of new generations, the presence of bertsolarism in different areas and other sociological trends,” explains Irigarai.

This research, which was asked in summer to Unai Irigarai, is in its initial phase, observing the general photograph and extracting the main conclusions: “With the fall will also come the space to search for the reasons behind the photograph and present the results of the research. Let’s look at the path so we can keep walking.”