Sunday afternoon in the chapel of Santa Catalina de Sara. Two very desired concerts – Orbel and Maria Arnal & Marcel Bages- are missing to finish the Usopop festival. The day before, due to the rain, the organizers had to transfer the festival of Estella to the sports club of Sara. However, they decorated the room with the usual dexterity, and in the attendees they heard words of admiration. Some bring a slightly sleepy face, as the night of the day before in gaztetxe was long. Pantxika Gaicotchea Urricariet and Joanes Garcia Basurko, all of them at the entrance table, have not had the feeling of having taken a long break either. Waiting for the interview, many of them have approached to ask for tickets to be booked. “On behalf of Jorge one,” “four on behalf of Amaia, please.” At five o'clock they've brought people into one point, and we've continued to talk after a pause, where you hear the paused Orbel notes on the wall.

In view of the above, what valuation do you make of this year?

It was a pity not to be able to do so in Estella, because the base of Usopop is the mountain, but otherwise quite positive. We had a nice evening, people were happy and we worked looking at people. Many people have come from both sides of Euskal Herria, perhaps a little less for the time than last year, but quality is more important than quantity. There have been ordinary people, good people, concerts, and the party has been very good. We have lost some money, but it has been worth it. There are still two important concerts left, so we will do the review next week, resting, after hours of sleep.

Small and quality. These are some of the characteristics of the festival since its inception. What prompted you to organize?

The festival was basically created by a group of friends. Patxi Dutournier and we two collaborated with EHZ. We learned a lot from that partnership, but we were eager to create something else. In some festivals outside, we found some aesthetics that weren't in Euskal Herria. I also remember that on a DVD from Sigur Rós we were able to see a tour of Iceland through the natural places of Iceland. We realized that in Sara we had beautiful natural and historic places, and valuing them again, we could take music out of the usual places, and offer something more for families, different generations... We were people who had lived in the world of gaztetxe, with many new parents among them, and it was almost natural that we organized something like this. As far as music is concerned, we also wanted to make a bet out of the usual styles. There may be many occasions in Donostia-San Sebastian, but not in Sara. You heard ska, metal or rock, but just folk or pop. We wanted to show that there is also an active Basque scene there. We want these kinds of initiatives to be organized throughout the Basque Country. Small but numerous and human-sized that allow close treatment. Going to the macrophages makes us tired.

You mentioned the foreign reference festivals. Could concrete examples be cited?

For example, a small festival taking place on an island in Scotland: Away Game. Or the Latitude festival of England. The End of The Road itself, although a little larger, retains its charm. We look at these kinds of festivals, small and medium, cared for, coherent. And most of all: the programmers. There are more and more festivals that are photocopies, no color. We like to risk, to schedule the groups we want.

In addition to this great festival, they also organize concerts throughout the year, giving special importance to experimentation with places. Why?

Experimenting with places takes us out of the comfort zone. The direct ones are used to living in dark rooms. But the direct ones are not just music, the places have a soul and allow you to create something else. For example, we've already organized three concerts in the chapel that we're in. It has another sound, another story -- it was created by the citizenry in 1630 -- it's not as cold as a room. In addition, we like to make people know special places. Usopop is not just a series of concerts, but a more complete experience. We want to create a special relationship between people, offering quality, but to do so we have to bring fewer groups. The place helps to create an experience. In these places, other things are happening in people's heads, we have other attitudes. It is clear to us that if we put the same groups in a normal room, not half of the audience would arrive. Half of the people come to experience. The group doesn't know them, and that's great. He knows he's going to find the ones he likes and he's going to live a good time.

The figures govern culture. Lately, there has been a great obsession with quantifying cultural events. You, on the other hand, talk about the fact that an increase in Usopop would lose its essence.

Of course, keeping Txiki is an option. The RSI model, for example, has been somewhat intermediate and has created economic problems for them. At small festivals, we can make faster choices, we don't depend on money, we can do whatever we want. For us the figures are not important. Of course, we'll count the amount of beer and tickets we sell, but above all we give importance to relationships, to see if people have fun ... If we extended the festival, we would get into the logic of profitability, and something is always lost there. Many festivals are in the logic of money, but we love music.

Do you feel diminished species?

There are festivals with a similar philosophy. It's not the same, but there's Jazpana, for example. Or the newly created Kaiola festival. There are also very interesting initiatives in the Gaztetxe movement. The CER also has that touch. We would like to expand this model further. If Usopop serves to inspire some young people and they ever create something like this – different from their style – we are happy. That the people who feel like you dare.

Is it easy to maintain passion over the years?

Of course, every now and then there are times of stress. In order not to repeat the same formula, each year we try to do something new to the project: add a day, maybe remove, displace… The doubt moments are also many, to see if we have made good choices, if the micro will work... For example, the decision to transfer the festival to Sara's sports club due to the time was tough. At five in the morning we were fed up with cleaning, but then we came and thought it was worth it.

Being such a small festival, where do you get the money to bring groups from that category?

At first, each put EUR 200 from our pocket. The first year came more people than we thought, and because we're pretty cautious -- laughing -- in Sara, we started to hold some money back and invest for next year. Then we were helped by the Basque Cultural Institute (EKE), just a little. Normally, music groups have little chance of playing in these environments, so they make an effort and we do too. Maybe at a more modest price, but we always try to pay artists what they deserve and take care of them as best we can, for example, by preparing a good catering. Personal relationships are also of great importance: Belako played his fifth concert among us, swore that they would return and, after the success, returned with an affordable price. Or what happened to us with Bigott ... We were in Beasain, in Jazpana, a little drunk, we went to urinate, and we met Bigott's singer. We told him we had a festival and see if he wanted to come, at a relatively affordable price. He nodded. We had the manager's number passed, we wrote to him shortly and said yes, I hadn't forgotten. And so it did. Once here, they want to come back because they know what they are going to find: they will listen carefully to the authentic music lovers.

Put the Basque in the center of the festival. What influence does that have on a village like Sara?

The Basque option is, to some extent, a natural option. It is normal for some of us to speak in Basque. But it's also something we do on purpose. At first, we would refer more to the translations: beer/bière, etc. Now we don't translate anything. If you go to Germany, you will have to learn in German how to order beer. Here everything is the same. Sara is a Basque people, but a passive Basque people. Everyone knows Euskera, but many have not transmitted it. However, most young people also know Basque, they need to change their daily habits. The saratarras naturally live the spectacle of the afixas in Basque. That is the situation in Iparralde. Maybe people don't speak much Basque, but it's normal for them to see things in Basque. That's right and that's right. They do not live as taxation.

How often is the day after the festival? What are the challenges now?

We are reflecting on whether or not to continue. Every year we have the same doubt. Now comes the tenth anniversary, and we'll do it, yes or yes. Then we will see. We like projects like Astra, or like the Olla de Oñati -- they socially accelerate cultural activity. Maybe we'll ever start doing something different, but always in the cultural realm. Whether it's Usopop or anything else, we're not standing still.