#bertsolariak

[beautiful-basque-country]

While the world watched the football final, Basques were enjoying their oral poetry?

Last Sunday around 13,500 people packed the Navarra Arena pavilion in Pamplona for eight hours - coinciding in part with the Argentina-France match in Qatar - to follow the final in which the winner of the most important quadrennial championship of versolarism would be decided. The truth is that the tickets were sold out several months ago and in a matter of hours (...). It was broadcasted live with an estimated audience of 100,000.

But what is a bertsolari? Jon Abril is currently the president of the Elhuyar Foundation, dedicated to the promotion of science, technology and the Basque language, although he has previously been a bertsolari himself, a judge in competitions and in charge of proposing the topics to be discussed. (...) "Versolarism itself can be defined as an improvised song that is performed by reciting verses that respond to a proposed theme.(...) Jone Miren Hernández, professor of Anthropology at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), refers to John Foyle when explaining the peculiarity of the phenomenon: "There are expressions that are similar, linked to orality, all over the world and have, as in the Basque case, a tradition of centuries. The great virtue of versolarism has been its capacity to adapt to each historical moment and its power to strengthen, attracting new generations and achieving a great social echo. That is what Foyle marveled at".

She also highlights the "community orientation" of the phenomenon, and defines Basque versolarism as a "kaleidoscopic discipline: it brings together elements of a social type, of a political type, linked to identity or to a minority language such as Basque, but it also combines elements linked to music, aesthetics or art. There are many connecting elements and they vary depending on the person, which is why it has managed to bring together such a varied public, especially in recent years". (...)

In any case, Hernández emphasizes above all the capacity for adaptation and organization when it comes to explaining the success of the last two decades. Jon Abril agrees on this point and gives as an example the choice of the topics to be dealt with: "We talk more and more about social issues, whether it is the problems of migrants, the most cutting-edge debates in the field of feminism or, to give an example that was seen in the final, bertsularis can be asked to put themselves in the role of a transgender person. This has served to connect with the younger generations, but without scaring off the older ones".

Another of the great changes that this cultural expression has to do with the growing main role of women and feminism have played in this expansion. The current champion, Maialen Lujanbio, was in 1997 the first woman to reach the final of the Euskal Herria Championship, and was also the first to be proclaimed champion, already in 2009 (she would repeat in 2017 and in the current edition). This Sunday, on the other hand, three of the finalists were women.

"Versolarism is and has been, historically, a reflection of society because it has developed itself in the public space and this was populated by men, it was an area traditionally for men. This has changed, and this change has not happened by chance or overnight. It has required work. There has been resistance, as in all fields, but the entry of women in the schools of versolarism or the referentiality of bertsolaris like Maialen Lujanbio have allowed this capacity of adaptation and has consummated this change that we see", indicates Jone Miren Hernández. Jon Abril recognizes that it may be surprising that, in such a globalized, hypermodern and technologized world, a "simple" cultural expression, lacking large artifacts or huge marketing campaigns, is still alive and going through a sweet moment. "Its future will be promising if it is able to excite and connect with society and, especially, with the younger generations, as it has done in recent years. That is the challenge. So far it has got it right every time, and that requires continuous rethinking, openness and being able to attract people. It also demands research, being attentive to other creators or taking the risk of hybridizing with other genres. The bertso-eskolak (schools of versolarism) are full, so I am very optimistic," he concludes.

Original article in Spanish

[casadegipuzkoa]

#DollyPartonChallenge

[clublelarraskito]

CLUB LE LARRASKITO 2018ko UZTAILAREN 7AN / SABADO 7 DE JULIO DE 2018

20:00 PARTCHWORK ( gijón , guzmán argüello + pablo luna + pedro menchaca , sierra musical + saxos + guitarra , harry partch based music , http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Partch ) + OHOLTZA ( bilbo + oiartzun , beñat krolem + jon martin , performance + bertsolariak , www.instagram.com/infokrolem ) + ERITATURI ENSEMBLE plays INIS ( bilbo , fernando carvalho + enrike hurtado + ander lezamiz + ibon rg + ... , electronica + guitarra + txalaparta + txistu , improvised music + instructions ) + performance ZERO ( caracas + londres + busturia , aristide stornelli , armónica + kaossilator + retazos de poesías + video , psychotronics , www.vimeo.com/elaristide ) + LARVBA ( pamplona , haritz goñi , laptop + launchpad + midi , experimental fashion ambient , www.soundcloud.com/larvba/sets/exanime ) sarrera / entrada por 5€ kartela: beñat krolem

[tartalomarrazketa]

Bertsolariak burua bor bor

[gaztelumendi-blog]

zelan esaten da Feed back bertsotan?

Zur eta lur! Gaurko @berria -n lerro bakar bat ere ez bizkaiko txapelketari buruz. Ezta agendan ere. #josi

— uiturriaga (@uiturriaga) December 20, 2014

...eta bi ordu eta erdi beranduago, paperean ez baina sarean:

Gaur jokatuko da Bizkaiko Bertsolari Txapelketako finala Miribillan http://t.co/VnPzhT7Eih via @berria

— Berria.eus (@berria) December 20, 2014

ostean, beste mezu bat gehiago.

Bizkaiko Bertsolari Txapelketa gaur zuzenean http://t.co/9caYxpdqEe-en. http://t.co/6TT3luoUEf

— Berria.eus (@berria) December 20, 2014

[beautiful-basque-country]

Kaixo! I saw a discussion recently about batua being "nobody's native language" and only being used in media/education. I thought it was really interesting, do you have any information on this? Eskerrik asko!

Kaixo, anon

Basque dialects are quite different from one another, which has always been an obstacle for writers, bertsolariak (improvising poets), priests, and basically anyone that wanted to reach the widest Basque audience. We know that back in the 18th century, some writers established some rules they would follow, but they were too general and still many info was lost due to unintelligebility. 

Every living language needs a standard. A standard is needed to teach and study a language, to write and to speak, and to be understood - to a great extent if not 100% - in any place that language is spoken. Spanish standard was set in the 15th century based on the Castillian dialect that left other dialects like Mozarab completely out and ready for extintion; German and Italian had unifying and standard-setting processes in the 19th century; Basque had its own in the 70s, after Franco died. There was a first attempt in the 20s, but the civil war and the dictatorship that followed made it impossible. 

Just like standard Italian was mostly based on the Tuscan dialect (correct us if we’re wrong about this) - mainly because many great Italian writers had chosen it for their works - standard Basque was mostly based on Gipuzkoan and Lapurdian dialects, which, exactly like in the Italian case, had been the preferred dialects of Basque writers and had an overall perception of being more classy. Even nowadays, even if you master unified Basque, there are dialects that are very challenging because of this, because they differ too much from Gipuzkoan-Lapurdian.

Contrary to the desire that Euskara remained being a group of unintelligible dying dialects that many people still have, standard or unified Basque (Euskara batua in Basque) has helped Euskara survive and leave the dying state centuries of bans had left it in. It has made Euskara gain speakers and enthusiasts both in our country and all over the world, and given Euskal Herria more cultural cohesion. We can guarantee you that unified Euskara is the mother tongue of THOUSANDS of people nowadays, and that its setting and teaching lets us study at uni in Basque, for example, and has lead to a cultural renaissance that can reach all our country and not just our little valley where our own dialect is spoken, like it would happen in the past.

You can’t even imagine HOW fed up we are with this constant misinformation and hatred towards unified Basque; with people that always use the same old and completely wrong arguments - it’s a made up language, it’s artificial, it’s nobody’s mother tongue, it’s not real Basque, etc - with the sole intention of discrediting and invalidating our language. That you even pay them any attention is sincerely disheartening, anon.

[beautiful-basque-country]

Since we celebrate Mother’s Day today, here you are two beautiful songs bertsolaris (oral poets) Miren Amuriza & Maddalen Arzallus composed for their mothers - and for all the mums out there.

Hope you like them!!

Click Read More for the translated lyrics.

Gertutik bizi izan dute txapelketa,

They’ve closely lived the [bertsolari] championship poltsikoak klinexez goraino beteta, their pockets full of kleenex, agurren bat prestatu diegu tarteka, we’ve made them some agurrak sometimes [first & last verse in a championship]  ta eurentzat da gaurko bertso gogoeta, and today’s verse reflection is for them gure amek hainbeste merezi dute eta. because our mothers deserve that much. Bertsolarion amak gu animatzeko, Bertsolaris’ mothers usually are there hantxe egoten dira saio bakoitzeko, to cheer for us in every performance eskuekin dantzatuz hiru-lau panfleto. with 3 or 4 programs dancing in their hands Ze estiloa duten abanikatzeko! They have such a style when they fan themselves! Pantojak ere e’luke egingo hobeto. Pantoja [Andalusian folk singer] herself wouldn’t do better Beste batzuk ez dira ausartzen sartzera, Some others don’t dare to get in pentsatuz, “zenbat aldiz gelditu ote da!” thinking: “how much can it last!” errekorritzen dute frontoiko sarrera. they walk the fronton entrance from side to side Pausu hoiek kontatu ezkero luzera, If the length of all those steps was counted helduko lirateke maratoi batera. they would reach a marathon. Lasaitasunez egin ohi dute hasperen, They usually sigh out of calm saio bukaerara heltzean bederen. at least when a performance comes to an end Euren lekuan jarri behar dugu, zeren We have to put ourselves in their shoes, bertsolarion amak omendu ondoren, because, after honouring bertsolaris’ mothers, ama-bertsolariak ea izaten garen. who knows if we’ll become mothers bertsolaris. Baina titularretan beti dira tabu, But in the headlines there are always taboos gure kasuan behintzat ikusten da klaru. at least in our case it can be seen clearly. Norbaitek honi buruz idatzi nahi badu, If anyone wants to write about this, abizena baino lehen izena daukagu, we have a name before our surname, ta Arantza ta Mirenen alabak gara gu.(x3) and we are Arantza & Miren’s daughters.

—–

Ez dut gogoan lehen musua, lehendabiziko bularra. I don’t remember the first kiss, the first time I was breastfed Ez dut gogoan bizirauteko bertatik edan beharra. I don’t remember the need to drink from it to survive Nahiz eta ahaztu amak lehenengo eginiko irrifarra, Although I’ve forgotten the first time mum smiled at me ziur naiz hortik datorkidala bertsotarako indarra. (x2) I’m sure the strength to make verses come from all that

“Nere herriko neskatxa maite” kantatzen zidan gauetan, She used to sing me “nere herriko neskatxa maite” at night eta halaxe hasi ohi nintzen egunero ametsetan. and that way I used to start dreaming every day. Gaur gure amaren sehaska-kantez gogoratzen naiz plazetan, Today when I remember our mum’s lullabies in the town squares haren ahotsa ateratzen zait kantuan nagoenetan. (x2) it’s her voice that comes from me when I’m singing.

Nahiz ta gutxitan aipatu dudan bertsotan bere izena. Although I rarely say her name in my verses Nahiz txapelketan bere lekua den guztietan zailena. Although her place is always the most difficult one at the championships Sarri esan dit nere fansetan handiena bera dena, She has often told me she’s my biggest fans among my fans baina ez daki ni neu naizela bera miresten duena.(x2) but she doesn’t know I am the one who admires her.

Haren ondoan bizi izan naiz erregina bat bezela. I’ve lived like a queen by her side Ezin zitekeen hobeto bete ama on baten papela. She couldn’t have played better the role of a good mother Segundu batez pentsatu ezkero ni epaile bat naizela, If I thought for a second that I am a judge euren buruan jarriko nuke Euskal Herriko txapela.(x2) I would put on her head the Euskal Herria txapela [champion of EH]

Etxe barruko lamina eta inguruetako dama. The lamia of my home and the lady of the surroundings Bihar goizean hurbil zaitezte goxo-goxo beragana. Tomorrow morning go lovingly close to her ta esaiozue orain artean lotsaz gordetako dana: and tell her everything you’ve been keeping out of embarrasment: “Eskerrik asko guztiagatik, asko maite zaitut, ama!”(x4) “Thank you very much for everything, I love you very much, mum!”

[beautiful-basque-country]

Since it’s almost Christmas and the bertsolari championship was just last week, we’ve found a Christmas themed bertso battle to share!!! 

For those of you who doesn’t know what bertsolariak are, we’ll just tell you that these guys are incredible. They are given a theme: in this case, the hostess tells them one is Olentzero (Basque Santa) and the other one’s Santa Claus, and that they meet because none of them can enter a house. See how fast they start rhyming and answering each other! And of course they have to follow the meter... Meter, wittiness and beauty of the verses, and sticking to the theme, is what’s taken into account by the jury.

- Gabon adiskidea,                                           - Christmas partner, nolatan zu hemen?                                            why are you here? - Ikusi beharko da                                             - We’ll see whether adiskide garen                                                   we’re partners or not - Nik baietz pentsatu det                                  - I thought we were ukatu baino lehen                                              before you refused - Berba egingo dugu                                         - We’ll talk about it amaitu ondoren.                                                once we’ve finished Zergatik zatoz horren                                        Why are you itxura beltzeko?                                                 looking so black? - Ezin da txuriz joan                                           - Wearing white you can’t ikatza lortzeko                                                   go get coal - Gogoa al daukazu                                           - Do you feel like haurrak izutzeko?                                              scaring kids? - Ta zuk, berriz, guztiak                                    - And you, on the contrary barrezka jartzeko                                            feel like making everyone laugh Zeinen ridikuloa,                                               What a ridiculous uniforme hori!                                                    uniform you have! - Ba Coca Cola-k dio                                         - Well, Coke says nagoela ongi                                                      I’m okay      - Falta dira zintzilik                                            - I miss 1 or 2 bola bat edo bi                                                   xmas balls hung on you - Zure kapoitxo horiek                                     - May those chickens of yours ekartzeat hori                                                    fetch them to me Kontuz nirekin daude                                       Careful, because I CIA eta NASA                                                    have CIA & NASA with me - Ta halere sartzeko                                          - And however you aren’t ez zera kapaza                                                   able to enter - Ez didazu ipintzen                                          - You’re not making  ez bide erraza                                                  things easy for me - Lagun haundiak baina                                   - You’ve got important friends laguntza eskasa                                               but very little help Ze tximini estuak                                             Chimneys are too tight gaurko etxeetan                                                in nowadays houses - Neu ere sartu ezinik                                       - I can’t enter myself either      nabil, bai benetan                                              truth be told - Gainera su bajurik                                          - Besides, there’s no fireplace ez da kaleetan                                                  in the streets  - Amaitu behar dugu                                      - Both of us have to finish gaur biok  benetan                                            tonight anyway  Sartzeko beste bide                                        Could there be  bat ba ote dago?                                               another way of entering? - Nik Mepansaren ordez                                 - I prefer the main door atea nahiago                                                      to the extractor hood - Zoaz zeu aurretik ta                                       - You go first and gero ni errezago                                               then I, more easily - Lan zikinak egiten                                         - I’m used to do ni ohituta nago                                                 the dirty jobs  Baina ta zer umeak                                          But what if the kids  esnatzen badira?                                              wake up? - Baten bat ikusi dut                                        - I’ve seen some lehiotik begira                                                  looking through the window - Ez gaitzala ikusi                                             - Don’t let them see us azkar erretira!                                                  let’s go away quickly! - Nik ipuina kontatu                                         - I’ll tell them a fairytale ta zeu jarri tira                                                    and you start pulling noski bion artean                                             because of course  hobe izango da ta                                         it’ll be better if we work together  - Ea ba sartzen geran                                     - Let’s see if we enter elkarri tiraka                                                   pulling one another - Azkenik egin dugu                                     - We’ve finally done  langintza aparta!                                             a wonderful job! - Eskerrak! Ea Errege                                     - Thank goodness! Because Eguna bada ta!                                                it’s almost Twelfth Night!