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Several Aberri Eguna messages have come to us in regards to Aberri Eguna and its celebration in the Diaspora.  Udalbiltza let us know that they sent a video message to Basque clubs and entities around the world from its president, Mertxe Aizpurua, calling Basques to join in on the event from “where they are.”  FEVA, as well as many Basque clubs have done the same, calling for events, creating enthusiasm, and encouraging participation. 

Donostia-San Sebastian.  Many messages have coincided from clubs and Basque communities in the Basque Country, as well as from abroad on the celebration of the Day of the Basque Homeland.  The assembly of town halls and elected officials, Udalbiltza, presided by Mertxe Aizpurua sent us the video that they sent to Basque clubs and entities around the world on the occasion of Aberri Eguna.  Aizpurua, its president and the mayor of Usurbil, calls people to celebrate this date “with joy and enthusiasm, each in his own way, but as one nation of people that have the right to live as citizens of their own country"

Video message from the president of Udalbiltza, Mertxe Aizpurua, on the occasion of Aberri Eguna

In the video (here) Aizpurua reminds us that the entity that she presides gathers 1,500 elected officials from the seven provinces of the Basque Country, among them 183 mayors.  “We are a nation that some would like to see unstructured,” so “all of us need to do our part to unite in one territory the seven territories that go from Aturri to Ebro, creating the logo Zazpiak bat that our roots proclaim.”  Aizpura concludes the message talking about the contribution of the Diaspora and saying that “we need the larger Basque community around the world in order to construct our nation and progress.” 

There have been many similar invitations and calls from Basque clubs all over the world that we have received on the occasion of Aberri Eguna.  They are almost impossible to count (some of the most representative can be seen in the Agenda).  They are also many smaller invitations that without a lot of publicity, have been made locally across the Diaspora.  It is also known that only a few places celebrate Aberri Eguna in the Diaspora on Easter Sunday, but in many other places events take place over one or two weeks after, depending on the traditions in that particular community or country.

FEVA’s Aberri Eguna Message

FEVA, the Basque Argentinean Basque Organization's federation is an institution that sends an Aberri Eguna message each year, signed by its president, Hugo Andiazabal and its secretary, Javier Ederra. This year they highlight the contributions of Sabino Arana proclaiming “Euskadi as the homeland of the Basques,” axiom that reached "the streets on the first Aberri Eguna in 1932", being able to pass "many difficult situations, the war, and exile, but the Basque spirit continued in the Diaspora with the Basque Government in exile" and it's celebrated today “with enthusiasm in the Basque Country, in Argentina and all over the world.”