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The Beti Aurrera Basque Club in the Patagonian cities of Viedma and Carmen de Patagones, in the Argentine province of Rio Negro, ended its 20th anniversary activities and celebrated Euskera Day with a very interesting activity that is pretty unusual.  Borja “Negrita” Andia, an active member of the club, directed the “Leneas” group in the presentation of the work Women in Berrigorria written by Victor Ruiz Añibarro.  After its success, a new presentation in 2017 is very possible. 

Viedma, Argentina.   The pre-debut of Women in Berrigorria was attended by more than 100 people that surpassed the expectations of the actors and collaborators.  Moreover, it encouraged the “Leneas” group directed by Borja “Negrita” Andia, to think about doing another performance in 2017.  This has proven that the Diaspora in Argentina also has room for Basque theater.

Basque Theater in Argentina

“As part of its 20th anniversary festivities, the Euskal Etxea in Viedma y Patagones wanted to do something different, “director of the play, told EuskalKultura.com.  “We started looking around and we saw that theater is something that doesn’t happen very often in the Diaspora.  We had some limitations, because we don´t master the language and some of the plays were in Basque and others included music.  But we went with Women in Berrigorria, by Víctor Ruiz Añibarro, that fulfilled the criteria that we wanted: it was in Spanish and it was a comedy, which was essential since we wanted to reach the audience with humor.”

Women in Berrigorria takes place in a small Basque town, “where life of its inhabitants highlights folk traditions through their distinctive characters who develop a nuanced web of idiomatic turns, conveying the atmosphere of the Basque soul among tangles and conspiracies.” The director was selecting each of the actors taking into account the characters; and so chose some from the Basque club and others from other areas where Andia works as an actress.  The cast included Leonardo Dam (as Prudencio), Javier Zotta (as Dn Severo), Carlos Silva (as Dn Víctor), Cristian Payalef (Iñaki), Susana Forzati (Ramona), Rocío Pérez (Elvira) and Negrita Andia, who played Dña Begonia.

Basque-Argentine Director

Promoter of the project and director of the play, Borja Andia has a very close relationship to the Basque community.  She is the daughter of Victor Andia Jaurrieta from Olite-Erriberri in Nafarroa. Borja Andia, better known as “Negrita,” is one of the founding members of the Beti Aurrera Basque Club in Viedma and Carmen de Patagones and from day one has been part of the successive boards of directors.  Currently she is linked to the club but as a member of its choir, and now with the play as its director.

Andia also has a long career in theater.  She has taught courses and training seminars and has been in multiple works, even if this is the first time as director, before she also worked as a co-director.  “Besides being my first time as director, besides that I also acted, something that isn’t easy to do with two roles at the same time; but nevertheless, I’m very happy with the experience,” she told EuskalKultura.com.

Now the audience is asking when they will be able to see Women in Berrigorria again, and the group assures us that they will return to the stage in 2017.  “Now we will take a rest, since we’ve worked hard for months.  But we would like to return and perform it again sometime next year,” Andia said.

Remember that Víctor Ruiz Añibarro, author of the work was born in Pasaia, Gipuzkoa although apparently was from Bilbao by adoption, and came to Argentina in exile in 1938, where he wrote a large number of works on Basque themes, including Women in Berigorria published by Ekin publisher in Buenos Aires. Its debut, according to the Basque exile by Iker Gonzalez Allende (ED), was under the title The Loose Steer by the Antzerki group directed by Aristides Motini, at the Casal de Catalunya in Buenos Aires, on August 6, 1949.  The work was translated to Basque by Nemesio Etxaniz. Ruiz Añibarro died in Buenos Aires in 1970.