A.E./Bilbao, Bizkaia. Eduardo Strauch Urioste (Montevideo, 1947), architect of Basque origin and one of the survivors of the tragedy of the Andes, was recently in Euskadi to record Origen on ETB2 to be shown in May.
The new program features people from the Basque Diaspora who are looking to trace their Basque roots. “Origen,” is hosted by Olga Zabalgogeaskoa, and hopes to show who they are, and how much they know about their ancestors, as well as to what point they inquire about their roots. The show also tries to create a unique experience with their Basque family members who are still living there.
Getting to know the land of his ancestors
Eduardo Strauch Uriarte accepted the invitation extended by the program to go to Euskadi happily, especially since it gave him the opportunity to travel and get to know more people. It also gave him a chance to get to better know his Basque roots and the land of his ancestors.
Strauch Urioste lives in Montevideo, Uruguay, and is married with three children. For more than 40 years he has dedicated himself to architecture and is also a distinguished artist. He travels all over the world, and is invited, on many occasions, to give presentations where he transmits what he has learned over his extraordinary career, that allowed him to live in the Andes Mountains.
His passion for architecture helped him survive the tragedy in the Andes. He quickly became a pioneer of architectural projects that generated a model, and also allowed him to become involved in the development of the seaside resort town of Punta del Este, as well as other resorts that stretch to the border with Brazil.
Currently, he continues to study architecture, an activity that he alternates with giving presentations related to the odyssey of living in the Andes Mountains, and his painting, which over the last few years has become his passion.
Need to transmit his experience
Eduardo Strauch kept silent for more than 30 years about his experience, until one day he felt the need to talk about it in hopes of contributing to the betterment and change the vision of life of others, from their values to their faith, hope, solidarity, work, discipline and will and perseverance.
His presentation, “Exit,” is characterized by a humanist vision, mature and above all stripped of heroism and banal aspects. Here he relates how, when faced with a limited circumstance and in order to achieve a goal, leadership naturally emerges and the need to organize. He calls this phenomenon, “The new society.”
He talks about his Basque grandfather, Jose Pedro Urioste, who transmitted his love for Basque the most to him, and keeping in mind that Urioste immigrated to Uruguay eight generations ago, it is clear that a lot of work was done to transmit his Basque roots from one generation to the next.
His grandfather, Eduardo, constructed a type of farmhouse with furniture that he imported from the Basque Country. They would gather there many a weekend, his 52 first cousins and 250 more distant ones.
Besides Eduardo Strauch Urioste, the new program “Origen” on ETB2 will also have other guests such as Juan Martin Guevara, Che Guevara’s little brother; Maria Pilar Garcia Gurtuby, descendant of Simon Gurtubay who became famous in Bilbao for importing cod from Norway; Fernando Solabarrieta, popular Chilean presenter and journalist, and the Argentinean cook, Fernando Martitegui.
(Article originally published on Eitb.eus)
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