euskalkultura.eus

Merlo, Argentina. The first snowfalls begin in the Sierras de Comechingones, in inland Argentina, between the provinces of Cordoba and San Luis, and local media turn to “El Vasco” (The Basque) to tell them what the winter temperatures are like on the edge of the mountain.  And “El Vasco,” is none other than the Osintxuarra, Roman Agirrezabal, who came to Argentina almost 20 years ago and was trapped, not only by geography, but also by the welcome that the local Basques gave him, decided to stay and settle in the sierra not far from the San Luis town of Merlo.

“In Bergara, I had the Txuringo Taberna but around 2002, things weren’t going well and so I decided to come,” Roman told EuskalKultura.eus, in his Bergara Basque accent that he hasn’t lost at all.  “My father had family here, in Villegas, Bedia, Lincoln…. After touring several places, I decided to stay in the mountains, not far from Merlo,” he explained.

From the heights of the mountain, he tracks the weather and the arrival of winter in late May and early June in Argentina:

[Roman, “El Vasco,” Agirrezabal on Merlo News 13 talking about the weather]

Roman’s house is in the Sierras Grandes, and it isn’t a hotel, but nevertheless, his doors are always open for anyone who comes.  “There is room to spend the night and I always have something to offer to eat.  This is the custom in the mountains in the Basque Country. Now, because of the pandemic, not too many people come, but normally they come, as well as friends to visit, as well as Basque friends,” he adds.

When asked how to find him and access his place, in the case that a reader would like to visit him and enjoy his company, and the nature that surrounds him, Roman says that it is very simple: “Just ask in Merlo or its surroundings for “El Vasco,” and they will show you the way.  They all know me and know where I am,” he says proudly.

[Roman Agirrezabal, at Semana Vasca in Villa Maria in 2013, behind the prisoner poster]

Although he has chosen a tranquil life, in a relatively isolated place, there is an annual event that Roman never misses: he attends Semana Nacional Vasca every year. In fact, he is one of the first to arrive, wherever it is organized, to meet his Basque friends from Argentina and the Basque Country.