Basque Country fiestas and traditions information

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BASQUE COUNTRY Information: FIESTAS AND TRADITIONS

Bertsolaris (poets who improvise verse in the Basque language), dantzaris (performers of folkloric dances), txalapartaris (percussionists as per ancient tradition), harrijasotzailes (stone-litters) or segalaris (grasscutters). These are not strange beings, but modern Basques dedicated to preventing the disappearance of age-old traditions. The combination of common folkloric elements with the peculiarities of the different Basque populations gives rise to an endless selection of festive expressions the whole year round, not to mention a number of important international festivals. The rural world, with the farmhouse or baserria at the centre of the family, agriculture and stockbreeding, has lost a good deal of its former importance in Basque life. This said, the farmhouse culture is yet to be found behind most of the typical sports, fiesta traditions that have adapted to modern times without losing any of their original spirit.

The Basques have converted farm chores into competitive sports and a way of having fun. Challenges and a proverbial love of betting have made a job as hard as log-cutting into a popular sport where two woodcutters, or aizkolaris, stand on trunks of wood similar in thickness and compete to see who is the best with the axe. Grass-cutting, stone-lifting, and even the sheepdog trials where farmers and their quickwitted dogs lead sheep round a circuit, are now institutionalised rural sports or herri kirolak, as are others such as the soka-tira, where two teams measure their strength in a tug-of-war, skittles and, of course, Basque pelota in its different modalities, be it hand, bat or cesta-punta (see picture). Herri kirolak, which survive not only as folkloric representations for the tourists, but as lively events attracting hordes of local enthusiasts, are present at all agricultural fairs, religious processions or rural fiestas worth their salt, as are other examples of Basque idiosyncrasy. First in this respect is traditional music and dance, proof of a wealthy folkloric heritage. Next are the berlsolaris, those highly admired performers of improvised oral literature who have had such an influence on the transmission of Euskera, the millenary language of the Basques.

Last but not least, are the traditional crafts. Wooden objects, ranging from yokes for tying oxen together, kutxas (carved trunks) or makilas (walking sticks) are still made by a small group of wood craftsmen. But we mustn't forget the argizaiola, a decoratively carved piece of wood around which a long wax candle is wound and which was lit in times gone by to provide the deceased with light in the world of darkness. This traditional object actually dates from preChristianity, the expressions of which were largely assimilated by the Catholic religion.

Springtime: masks and dances
One of the aspects on the Basque festive and cultural calendar to be found the whole year round is folklore. Although most of events of this kind take place in summer, the Basque Autonomous Community offers interesting rendezvous in each of the four seasons. In spring we can have a ball at the Carnival or Inauteriak. This happy-go-lucky festivity has best preserved its atmosphere in the smaller villages, and particularly in Tolosa (Gipuzkoa), than it has done in the capitals. The relative carnival licentiousness gives way to the solemnity of Easter, with the picaos of San Vicente de la Sonsierra (Rioja alavesa) as they whip their backs in penitence, or the popular representations of the Passion and Death of Christ in Balmaseda, Durango and Galdakao (Bizkaia), not to mention those of Segura and Hondarribia in Gipuzkoa. In addition to the tattoo and drum parade of San Prudencio in Vitoria-Gasteiz, two unusual and rather touching festivities bring the spring cycle to a close: that of La Santa Cruz, in Legazpi (Gipuzkoa), when the Mirandaola forge is set in motion, and that of the Corpus Christi procession in Ofiati (Gipuzkoa), the masks and dances of which date back at least to 1478.

Summer: Fireworks and jazz
It's no exaggeration to say that the Basque Country becomes one big fiesta in summertime. Festive rendezvous come one after the other around a number of specific dates. In June, San Juan (be careful not to miss the festivities in celebration of the patron saint's day in Tolosa when the Bordondantza is performed, or the religious procession to the Hermitage of San Juan de Gaztelugatxe), San Pedro (when the Kaxarranka is danced in Lekeitio), and San Marcial, the culminating moment of which is the noisy military parade (Alarde) in Irun. Both the latter and Hondarribia celebrate their patron saint's day in the same way, by donning red berets and sporting a gun over their shoulders in memory of past victories over the French army. The San Marcial Alarde celebrated in both Irun (30th June) and Hondarribia (8th September) is massively attended by men and women from the towns along the river Bidasoa, July and the day of the Virgen del Carmen (the patron saint of fishermen) bring celebration to seafaring villages such as Plentzia and Santurtzi. In Antzuola (Gipuzkoa), the Alarde del Moro commemorates a historical episode. The Fiestas de la Magdalena bring Errenteria (Gipuzkoa) and Bermeo (Bizkaia) to life, while the latter has a curious tradition of celebrating having obtained the ownership of Izaro Island. But there's more to come. The Oia del Blusa (when groups of youngsters dress in different coloured tunics) in Vitoria-Gasteiz, or the fiesta in celebration of Saint Ignatius, patron saint of Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa, particularly popular in Azpeitia and Getxo. In August, the festive temperature rises slightly (if possible) with the avalanche of events organised in Vitoria-Gasteiz in celebration of La Virgen Blanca and in Donostia-San Sebastian and Bilbao during their respective Semanas Grandes or "Big Weeks". Although Getaria celebrates its patron saint's day each year, it is only on every fourth year that we can see the performance representing Elkano's disembarkation from his voyage round the world.

Summer in the Basque Country is festival time. For example, the Jazz Festival. Lovers of this genre can choose from a selection of three events taking place in July. The first, in Getxo, is the most European of the three; the second, in VitoriaGasteiz, is the most complete and offers more star appearances than the others; the third option, Donostia-San Sebastian's Jazzaldia, has a touch of seniority and the added attraction of the fact that most of the concerts take place in the open air. But there are also options for other musical tastes, such as the International Folklore Festival in Portugalete, or the important classical music festival, the Quincena Musical, held each year in San Sebastian.

Autumn: Military parades and cinema
September brings the San Antolfn fiestas to
Lekeitio and those of the Virgen de Guadalupe and hence the military parade, or Alarde, to Hondarribia. Another parade, held later in October, and that known as Errebombillos, takes place in Elorrio.
Although Donostia-San Sebastian isn't Hollywood, it does become a miniature version each September. The Film Festival, the only international competitive event of its kind in Spain, attracts countless film buffs in search of oeuvres by new directors and of the famous faces who parade their glamour through the streets of the city. Autumn also offers a number of cultural events: Bilbao sees the start of the ABAO opera season and the International Documentary and Short Film Festival; Vitoria-Gasteiz is the venue of the International Theatre Festival; Tolosa organises the Choral Competition; and Donostia-San Sebastian a second cinematographic contest, the increasingly popular Fantasy and Horror Film Festival.

Winter: Drums and books
Winter is introduced by Santo Tomas fair, when
agricultural products and a flavour of the countryside are brought right into the centre of two capital cities: Donostia-San Sebastian and Bilbao. Christmas Eve sees the arrival of the Olentzero, a pot-bellied charcoal burner with pre-Christian roots who has become a sort of local Santa Claus. Christmas is celebrated differently in Labastida (Alava), where 17th century dances are performed, and in Lazkao (Gipuzkoa) where Mary and Joseph's flight to Egypt is re-enacted at the fiesta known as Astotxo (Little Donkey). The 20th January marks the day on which the roll of drums is to be heard throughout Donostia-San Sebastian. The celebrations in honour of the city's patron saint and the melodies of Raimundo Sarriegui continue all day long. Two days later, Oyón-Oion (Alava) is the setting for a peculiar procession known as Katxi. There are fewer cultural rendezvous in winter, although we mustn't forget the Basque Book and Record Fair in Durango, showcase of the year's production in the Basque language.

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