Begoña Miñaur / Donostia-San Sebastian. Basque dancer and instructor from Añorga, Gari Otamendi, has recently returned from the islands of Saint Pierre et Miquelon, where he was invited by the local Zazpiak Bat Basque club. Otamendi knows the dance world in the Diaspora very well, and has a lot to say about the contribution of the Basques around the world to dance and Basque culture.
-When you were in Saint Pierre et Miquelon, what workshops did you teach there?
I was in Saint Pierre from April 15-May1. I taught two workshops: the first was for children between the ages of 6-10 years of age and I had 20 participants. The second one was for adults. During the course there were former members of the local dance group, Orok Bat, and people form the area, the majority Basques, but there was also a couple who teach dances from Breton.
The main objective was that dance continues in Saint Pierre after my two-week stay there. In this sense, I tried to make it fun for the children, and I taught the adults new dances, but also reminded them of what they used to do. I also tried to teach some systems of dance, and instruction models, to facilitate transmission and continuity.
On the last day, we did a demonstration with the children and the adults have a lot of challenges in their future. June will mark 200 years that Saint Pierre et Miquelon are in the hands of the French, and the Basques want to have a distinguished presence at these celebrations with Basque dance performances and pelota.
-This isn’t the first time that you have traveled to Saint Pierre et Miquelon. What was your first contact like?
I was there in August of 2015, at Basque Week, with the Errebal dance group. We couldn’t take our usual dantzaris and we contacted accordionist Maider Martineau, violinist, Raphael Tristan and pander player Aratzazu Muñoa. I played the arrabita (similar to a lute) but above all I went as a dancer and instructor, and so we taught some classes. It was a very enriching experience because it allowed us to strengthen our ties with the people in Saint Pierre. Also, I think that our small contribution helped to recuperate the love of dancing.
-Were you surprised to find the Basque culture alive there?
I wasn’t surprised at all. Since I was a child I have been aware of Saint Pierre because my mother lived there for three years, helping Basque fishermen during the fishing season. What did surprise me was that Basques have been there for several generations, and in that sense, it is remarkable that the Basque culture has been maintained there as much as it has.
-You have a strong relationship with the Basque Diaspora and you have danced with the Oinkaris. How did this relationship with dantzaris in the Diaspora begin?
In 1995, when i was 15, i went to Jaialdi in Boise with the group Arkaitz from Añorga. We had a very close relationship with the Oinkari group. Afterwards, some of them came to the Basque Country and during the year they would practice with us. In 2000, we returned to Jaialdi, and in the same way, every time an Oinkari has come to Euskadi, they have come to Añorga.
I was also an instructor at NABO’s Udaleku in 2004 in Boise and in 2006 in Elko. In sum, more than 20 years of comings and goings have strengthened that relationship, above all with the Basques in Boise. I have also been to Australia in 2005 at the Townsville Basque club.
I have never been to South America, but I do have a relationship with some Basques from there since I also taught classes at Gaztemundu 2002. Some returned in 2014 and what a party we had! What would this relationship be without partying! Anyway, I have to say that the perspective that I now have on Basque culture would not be complete without the point of view that I have been given by my relationship with the Basque Diaspora [One of his articles in Basque]
-How do you see the world of dance in the Diaspora?
From my point of view, it is very interesting to note the role of dance in the Diaspora. In the sense that dance is a language, it is an instrument of transmission and fundamental cohesion in the Basque communities in the Diaspora. I remember when we danced at Jaialdi, the audience really appreciated us and they gave dance a lot of prestige. Even though all of this was a paradox for us. We were accustomed to fill the role of the step-sister and all of the sudden, we were in the middle of the festival dancing for 3,000 people.
I think that Basques in the Diaspora have contributed as much to us as we have to them. Even without a territory, and without a language, they have constructed their identity through dance. This is invaluable. Andof course, it doesn’t happen by chance. Experts like Lisa Corcostegui are behind this.
-Do you have any suggestions on how to support this exchange between dantzaris in the Diaspora and Euskal Herria?
Today, thanks to the Internet, it is really easy to share materials. At the same time, it isn’t easy to manage the flood of information that comes to us. So that is why I think direct contact is the best, with stays like were carried out in Saint Pierre. It is imperative to know each community from the inside and to understand its socio-cultural characteristics of each place and be able to contribute on the basis of that.
I think it is also very important not to forget that the Basque culture extends in many countries, with all that this signifies. United with that, I think that for future efforts to bear quality fruit, it is now that we make the autonomy of the Diaspora a goal. Putting aside the paternalism and it is time to put what the Diaspora has taught us on the table.
To the extent that they have managed to maintain and spread the Basque culture and the Basque community for several generations, I think that we need to recognize the Eighth Province, beyond the mere name, its entity. When all is said and done, we are all members of a nation without a state, right? If we support symmetrical relations, we could have a win, win model that the United States loves so much.
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