Automatically translated from Basque, translation may contain errors. More information here. Elhuyarren itzultzaile automatikoaren logoa

Of the colors of Euskal Herria

Paula Estévez

But the rain has come at the end: How to hold Euskal Herria so green, if not,” they say. And he really has it. But in our mother's country, the earth acquires a dark tile color when it rains, as if it wasn't very clear what it's made of: tiles by land or tiles. Green meadows are found only in the scarce artificially irrigated artificial parks, and the thick reddish barrels of winter turn into yellowish powder for the summer season. Sometimes only the great river and the lush fruits of the red orchards seem green.

When we sing “I like it, I like our corners, when I hide the brumas…”, what exactly are “our corners”? How many people remember a set of summits or hills at dawn, in view of a thin sheet of fog? And how much does the thick fog of that Ebro that descends, caressing violently, the entire southern border of Euskal Herria come to mind?

I am referring to the homogenised geographical imaginary of Euskal Herria, but in part it has brought me a partial imaginary about the heterogeneous political situation of Euskal Herria: namely, the fact that in the light of last month’s elections in the Spanish State some Basques said, euphoric, trifachito, that we did not obtain a representative in the CAV (later). Perhaps some of us have to decide whether or not we really are Navarre; Navarre, with its contrasts: That Navarre that has supported Bel Pozueta, and that Navarre that has returned to the chair of mayor of the capital, Enrique Maia, and that Navarre that has given more than 10% of support to Vox in some municipalities. I have once heard some people in the Ribera say, jokingly, that they look more like the Aragonese than the Navarros beyond Pamplona, and I have often heard the Navarros beyond Pamplona that are clearly distinguished from the Southern Navarros. It's a reality. As a reality, many Basques say “we are all Navarros” but taking Navarre as an idealized distant symbol, almost as some men say “we all love the mother”.

And what about the gulf that exists between that very eastern North and that very western South. Well, we're there for each other, we're there for each other, we're there for both. We are so far away from each other, that we hardly have that stupid competition among the nearby villages: the Guipuzkoans of the Meaplaya coast, those of the north of Navarra robasetas to the Guipuzkoans, all arrogant to the Bilbaínos, all to the Alaveses pateros, all to the Donostiras ñoñostians, and so ad infinitum. We in the South, as far as I am aware, do not have such foolish rivalries and, on the one hand, thanks to those of Iparralde, but on the other hand, that vacuum also shows remoteness, inequality.

I do not pretend (I am not misunderstood) that this absurd competition between territories is seen as something positive, nor that nobody is called to account: it is normal for everyone to know their environment much better and, to some extent, it is normal for people in the most populated areas to expand further. But those of us who talk about a certain unity, we may have to do a little bit more to recognize each other or, rather, to fully recognize ourselves beyond idealizations, topics and condescension.

Bidali zure iritzi artikuluak iritzia@argia.eus helbide elektronikora

ARGIAk ez du zertan bat etorri artikuluen edukiarekin. Idatzien gehienezko luzera 4.500 karakterekoa da (espazioak barne). Idazkera aldetik gutxieneko zuzentasun bat beharrezkoa da: batetik, ARGIAk ezin du hartu zuzenketa sakona egiteko lanik; bestetik, egitekotan edukia nahi gabe aldatzeko arriskua dago. ARGIAk azaleko zuzenketak edo moldaketak egingo dizkie artikuluei, behar izanez gero.


ASTEKARIA
2019ko abenduaren 22a
Azoka
You are interested in the channel: Iritzia
Berwick and us

You may not know who Donald Berwick is, or why I mention him in the title of the article. The same is true, it is evident, for most of those who are participating in the current Health Pact. They don’t know what Berwick’s Triple Objective is, much less the Quadruple... [+]


Public services: paving the way for the chainsaw or clearing the forest?

The article La motosierra puede ser tentadora, written in recent days by the lawyer Larraitz Ugarte, has played an important role in a wide sector. It puts on the table some common situations within the public administration, including inefficiency, lack of responsibility and... [+]


2025-04-16 | Haritz Arabaolaza
The language of

Is it important to use a language correctly? To what extent is it so necessary to master grammar or to have a broad vocabulary? I’ve always heard the importance of language, but after thinking about it, I came to a conclusion. Thinking often involves this; reaching some... [+]


The 'favorite' places

The other day I went to a place I hadn’t visited in a long time and I liked it so much. While I was there, I felt at ease and thought: this is my favorite place. Amulet, amulet, amulet; the word turns and turns on the way home. Curiosity led me to look for it in Elhuyar and it... [+]


2025-04-16 | Rober Gutiérrez
The skills

Adolescents and young people, throughout their academic career, will receive guidance on everything and the profession for studies that will help them more than once. They should be offered guidance, as they are often full of doubts whenever they need to make important... [+]


2025-04-16 | Jon Alonso
The White Birds

It will be two or three weeks since I read it, in a column by Maialen Akizu. Aner Peritz brought with him what he said on TV: “Bertsolarismo is what has led me not to interact with zis hetero men, because bertsolarismo is what has made me dissident, and also because... [+]


2025-04-16 | Itxaro Borda
In order to survive

If that's the fear. Donald Trump seems to have come to occupy Washington’s rounded office for a long time. He has a second mandate, but to his close advisers, confirming that he is not joking, he also mentions his rigid goal of changing some isolated numbers in the Constitution... [+]


Aitonita eta ortologia

Ansorena´tar Joseba Eneko.

Edonori orto zer den galdetuz gero, goizaldea erantzungo, D´Artagnanen mosketero laguna edo ipurtzuloa, agian. Baina orto- aurrizkiak zuzen adierazten du eta maiz erabiltzen dugu: ortodoxia, ortopedia, ortodontzia... Orduan (datorrena... [+]


2025-04-16 | Bea Salaberri
Get ready for the war?

“Bag of resilience”, “survival manual”, “backpack of evacuations”: that’s what you can hear in the mouths of the authorities in recent weeks.

Among the declarations of the past month, the European Union has asked the population to prepare a “survival kit” to... [+]


2025-04-16 | Karmelo Landa
The Patriotic Opportunity

It’s not Christmas Day, it’s Christmas Day that we Basques need. Once a year there are repeated calls from potential patriotic parties and groups, on these dates, the homeland of the Basque Country is the Basque Country/Euskal Herria around the proclamation. It's a matter of a... [+]


The technology
To do or not to do

Last week I had a nice meeting with a group of women that I hadn’t seen for a long time, and we talked about doing it, linked to spaces of technology and creation.

The oldest of these women, who is on the frontier of retirement, is a programmer and enjoys programming code... [+]


2025-04-16 | Ula Iruretagoiena
Lurraldea eta arkitektura
Eraikinaren bizitza

Hainbatetan esan izan didate arkitektoen lanaren gauzarik indartsuena dela ekoizten duguna betikotu egiten dela. Eraikinaren betikotasunak gizakiaren presentzia tenporala gainditzen duela eta geroko etorkizunean iraunkor egingo gaituela. Eta liburu batekin gertatzen ez den... [+]


2025-04-16 | June Fernández
Seller of melon
Location of Chimamanda

Many Basque feminists have been disappointed to learn that writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has externalized pregnancy, meaning that a surrogate has fertilized her baby for money.Adichie is the author of the essay We should all be feminists, among others. They have ignored the... [+]


For education in Basque, no more English sessions

We have had to endure another attack on our language by the Department of Education of the Government of Navarre; we have been forced to make an anti-Basque change in the PAI program. In recent years, by law, new Model D schools have had to introduce the PAI program and have had... [+]


Eguneraketa berriak daude