Diamante, Argentina. The “Don Julio Otegui Inter-School Soccer Tournament” was declared of Municipal interested in 2006 and has become a classic in the town of Diamante in the province of Entre Rios, some 450 kilometers from the capital. This year, in its 26th edition, it won’t only gather students from 17 schools in the area and local authorities including Mayor Juan Carlos Darrichon, but it will also include the presence of Julio Otegui’s children and grandson. Photos of the tournament, here.
Don Julio César Bartolomé Otegui
Grandson of Lorenzo Marcial Otegui from Tolosa, Julio Cesar Bartolome Otegui, was born in Victoria Entre Rios in 1919. As a prefect, he lived and worked in different parts of the Argentine Mesopotamia, provinces of Misiones, Corrientes and Entre Rios, the latter being where he finally settled, specifically in the small town of Diamante. As a “good Basque” lover of physical activity, Julio Otegui was the founder and member of sport clubs in the region.
According to one of his daughters, Marta Liliana Otegui, her dad “used to say that children shouldn’t be in the streets and so that is why he would organizing sporting events, soccer and track…In 1994, Esteban Rau, from the Club Independiente in Diamante, proposed a tournament to my father and he thought it was a good idea. With the “Don Julio Otegui Inter-School Cup,” his message to the children is that they should enjoy and have a good time. It was a championship where everyone won. My father died in 1999, but the Championship is still being held with the same call and same success.”
This year, his three daughters, Marta Liliana with his grandson Jeremias, Elena Isabel and Maria Julia were part of the tournament’s inauguration. Although time has taken its toll and they have lost touch with their origins in Euskal Herrria, Liliana has begun a search to find her Basque history. “A few years ago, I went to Tolosa and I was able to find my great-grandfather Lorenzo’s house. I know his wife was named Garra and I am aware that I still have a lot of research to do to learn more about my family. I would also like to approach some Basque clubs to learn about the history of the Basque Country,” she explained to EuskalKultura.eus, excited by the importance of maintaining the legacy of her father in Diamante.
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