euskalkultura.eus

For six hours straight broadcast on the internet and on social media, the proposal from the Basque community achieved victory over the situation imposed by the Coronavirus and generated much excitement with much participation, with important references from the world of politics, culture, and sports joining in from Argentina as well as from Euskal Herria.  Zorionak to the Laurak Bat Basque Club and all those who participated, establishing a milestone in the history of Buenos Aires Celebrates.

Buenos Aires, Argentina.  Different, although similar, the tenth edition of the “Buenos Aires Celebrates the Basque Country," took place yesterday virtually but will all the same contents that it would be enjoyed any other year on Avenida de Mayo: there were presenters, greetings and notes of welcome, dance, and music, gastronomy, Euskera, genealogy, sports and activities for the txikis, mus…

The Coronavirus altered the festival, but it didn’t derail it.  Social networking replaced the stands, stages and meeting spaces.  Disadvantage?  One of the biggest, without a doubt, was the lack of hugs and handshakes.  Advantages? There were many, for example the participation of Basque clubs that are far away, who never would have been able to travel to attend in person, such as the Mendiko Eusko Etxea in Bariloche or the Euzko Etxea in Santiago, Chile. Another was it becoming a truly global festival since, thanks to the internet, the festival was followed all around the world, besides all over Argentina and the Euskal Herria.

In a first assessment, Arantxa Anitua, president of the organizing club, Laurak Bat, stressed that the experience will undoubtedly mark a “before and after. In no way do we think that the virtual can replace the face-to-face, but we do believe that using the internet will allow us to shorten the distances in a country as large as our,” she told EuskalKultura.eus.   

“It was intense, some moments more stressing but others, but all was very gratifying.  It is also very gratifying to know that we were the first foreign community in Buenos Aires to put together a digital BAC, and to see that it worked, and that the general satisfaction reaches the municipal government.  We are very happy, and it is still too early to talk about numbers, but we can say that throughout the afternoon, the number of followers multiplied.  People asked questions during the entire broadcast about last names, recipes…And all with great energy and a good feeling; we know that this is something we can capitalize on.”

The level of organization was also very satisfying, “Happy that we did it, and with so many people working on it, the usual people, but also some new members that had to adapt to new roles, and did so very well…All I have left are words of thanks to everyone,” she added.

The “likes,” and the number of views on Facebook and Instagram clearly show increased numbers, which can also be verified by the congratulatory notes received by Laurak Bat. To see these messages, just visit them on these social networks.  While there, you can also see what was broadcast during the afternoon as well as messages from dozens of celebrities.