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Even if Argentina is the champion regarding all things Basque in terms of the Diaspora, Uruguay isn’t far behind and boasts a history of a large percentage of its population impregnated by the legacy of the children of Aitor. EuskalKultura.com had yesterday in its office in Donostia the visit of Maritxu Saralegui and Enrique Poittevin, two Montevideo born Basques very active in the Basque Uruguayan community.

Joseba Etxarri/Donostia-San Sebastian.  For years I have coincided with Enrique Poittevin and Mirentxu Saralegui in Montevideo or during Semana Vasca in Argentina, but this time we met in Donostia. Both born in Montevideo, Enrique (62) and Mirentxu (60) they make up a pair of Uruguayan Basques committed “since forever” to their roots. Mirentxu is the daughter of Basques from Tolosa, in Gipuzkoa, and Intza, in Navarre, and Enrique has a further conexion in his case with a Lower Navarran ancestry that goes back three or four generations. We meet and talk in Donostia just a couple of days before they go back home to Montevideo after spending over a month in Euskadi, taking advantage of their trip to tour each one of the seven territories.

-So...Energizing so that you can return home with renewed strength to tackle new plans for Basque clubs in Uruguay?

We go back with the idea of a beautiful Euskal Herria, in crisis, they say, but since we don’t live here we don’t notice it much. The country is clean, organized, and we were everywhere, in Pamplona, Vitoria, and Bilbao and in the interior, also in the three provinces in Iparralde. The best, though, were the small towns, they are marvelous. The visit was like bathing in all of this and captioning images imprinted on our retinas.

-A well-deserved rest…Mirentxu’s father passed away last May after some very difficult years with the family always at his side.

Yes, it was very difficult. After our father passed away, ama who is 87 always said that she would not return, that she didn’t want anything else and so the trip worked out  pretty well, she came with us and we saw her enjoying every minute. She left Euskadi in 1952 and she has taught us many things during the trip, she knew the mountains perfectly and just before emigrating she climbed a hundred Basque summits – and she told us and explained each one to us. There were people who would stop her in the street saying “Arantxa, is that you?” and after so many years it was very nice.

-FIVU – the Federation of Basque Uruguayan Institutions held elections in June and elected Enrique as its new president.

That’s right. When we get back we will have more time to dedicate to FIVU. We need averybody. We need to work together to push the Basque wagon in Uruguay, to pull the cart and drive it. We want to gather the largest number of Basque clubs possible under the new and reinforced FIVU umbrella. Right now there are several Basque clubs in Uruguay and the work of the federation is to support and help them in their programs and activities that they develop as well as possible. There are Basques in every department in the country and there are clubs in Juan Lacaze, Rosario, Carmelo, San Jose, Flores, three in Montevideo (Euskal Erria, Euskaro and Haize Hegoa), as well as in Salto and Minas. In the case of the Euskal Erria club, it isn’t part of the federation and we need to make a serious effort for them to join us. The new Basque club in Flores has asked to join and should be accepted shortly. We can do better work if we are united.

-Some think that after a few noy very easy years, it now seems that we can begin a new growing stage in relation to the Basque community in Uruguay.

We hope that is true. There are some indicators that lean in that direction and FIVU faces a challenge that we hope to address the best way possible with everyone’s help.