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From today through the weekend, euskal etxeas in Argentina and Uruguay will celebrate the Winter Solstice with multiple activities.  The major attraction will be the San Juan Bonfire, but in addition there will be dancing, music and hot beverages for those who come to enjoy the show. EuskalKultura.com gathers invitations to join in festivities in Bueno Aires, Bahía Blanca, Cañuelas, Chivilcoy, Necochea, Trenque Lauquen and Montevideo.

Buenos Aires, Argentina.  Continuing this ancient tradition, in several parts of the world, they are getting ready to celebrate the solstice, the winter one in the Southern Hemisphere, and the summer one in the North.  The festivities take various forms, the majority related to a fire and its purification power.  The Basque community in the Diaspora also joins the celebration and euskal etxeas in Argentina and Uruguay are getting ready to build bonfires and enjoy a colorful celebration that allows the transmission of and to publicize aspects of Basque culture related to this ceremony.

The magic night, the longest without a doubt, one of the coldest winters that came early to the southern cone, will be celebrated starting today and through the weekend in a large number of clubs.  If you are celebrating at yours, and it isn’t on our list, write us so that we can include it on the agenda.

Montevideo: organized by the Haize Hegoa BC, the San Juan Bonfire will take place today in Montevideo; specifically on the corner of Isabela and Chopitea, in front of the Basque club. Anyone wishing to attend can burn “logs, branches, old wood, cards with bad or sad events, and everything that they deem necessary to debug.”  The event will begin at 7:30pm and there will be singing and dancing along with hot beverages to combat the cold.

Bahía Blanca: festivities will be held on June 24 beginning at 6:45pm at the Union Vasca.  There will be games and sweets that will be shared with those present.  At 7:30pm the festivities will continue with a dance performance around the bonfire.

Buenos Aires: The Iparraldeko Euskal Etxea will celebrate its classic Sorgin Afaria this Saturday, June 25 beginning at 9:30pm at the clubhouse on Moreno Street 1370.  The festivities will recreate the ceremonies that used to take place “before the Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, that were very important and that marked the time to sow crops and the emergence of animals, hence the worship of the male goat as the symbol of a vigorous reproducer.”  Witches and warlocks in the capital will enjoy this special menu (cold entrée, beans, roasted apples in rum and beverages) and will participate in dances, games, and raffles.  There will also be a prize for the best witch or warlock and at midnight there will be a spell and everyone will drink zurrakapote.  Tickets cost $180 and reservations will be taken until Friday the 24th via email: ibaiak@hotmail.com or by phone: 15 3784 5370. Attendees are asked to wear black.

Cañuelas: organized by the Denak Bat Basque Club, the San Juan festivities will take place in Cañuelas on June 25 at 7pm.  The Basque club invites members, friends and neighbors to join the kalejira from the clubhouse to the Salud Park where the bonfire will take place and the effigy of a Sorgina will be burned.  In the meantime, the club youth will dance Sorgin Dantza.  The community is also invited to bring their own effigies to burn.  Once the fire is pout out, the party will continue at the Denak Bat clubhouse where the hosting dancers, and members of the Basque dance workshop at the Jacaranda College will perform.  There will be a cantina and the menu includes lentil stew.

Chivilcoy: Thanks to Beti Aurrera, the San Juan bonfire will burn in Chivilcoy on Sunday the 26th.  The festivities will begin at 3pm at the clubhouse where there will be a music and dance performance by club dancers, and the Virgen de Loreto Peña among other local artists.  At dusk the fire will be lit and the effigy of the sorgina created by the club’s children will be burned.  After the fire, anyone wishing to, is invited to go back to the euskal etxea for a taberna.

Necochea: The Euzko Etxea will celebrate the feast of San Juan on Saturday June 25 at 8pm.  Members of the club will light the bonfire, and will burn an effigy of a mythological Basque character while telling its story.  Additionally, attendees will be able to write all the bad things that they would like to get rid of on paper and burn them, along with their wishes.  After the ceremony around the fire, the party will continue with a dance at the clubhouse.