euskalkultura.eus

Cañuelas, Argentina. As part of the training workshops that FEVA proposes every year to its Basque clubs, the first of 2014 took place on May 31^st and June 1^st in Cañuelas at the denak Bat Basque club and at the Smata complex.  Five workshops took place simultaneously on varied topics that were attended by Basque club members from Buenos Aires (Laurak Bat and Iparraldeko Euskal Etxea), San Nicolas (Euzkal Etxea), Jose C. Paz (Toki Eder), Mar del Plata (Denak Bat), Tres Arroyos (Hiru Erreka), Maipu (Anaitasuna), Arrecifes (Euskaldunak Denak Bat), General Las Heras (Zazpirak), Saladillo (Itxaropen), La Plata (Euzko Etxea) and hosting club Denak Bat in Cañuelas. 

Each of the following was offered independently: 

Music Workshop:  coordinated by Jose Gutierrez from the Laurak Bat Basque club in Buenos Aires, with the collaboration of Ioar Oteiza, trikitixa aide, and Iñaki Eskiroz from Euskaltzaleak, alboka aide, who gave an introductory talk on the instruments and the evolution of Basque music.  Participants were divided into groups to work with different instruments: txistu, alboka, trikitixa and tambourine.

[Students practicing the pander/tambourine, “hanka eta buru” (foot and head) (photoFEVA)] 

Dance Workshop: coordinated by Manuel Irastorza, from the Union Vasca in Bahia Blanca. Throughout the two days they worked on traditional and contemporary dances, dantza jolasak and taught three dances in a theory-practical module.  

[Dancers were taught both theory and practice in their workshop (photoFEVA)] 

Workshop – Director Training: Coordinated by Ricardo Basterra, in four units: 1) Introduction on the Basque Country and the necessity of organizing; Basque clubs as legal entities and procedure for their formal creation.  Assemblies and information on control agencies, organizations (Basque centers and FEVA); 2) Recognizing skills, creating teams, leadership and work methodology, management teams, motivation and use of skills; 3) Strategizing, execution and management control.  Matrix to detect weaknesses and control over plan execution; 4) what is FEVA, programs, clubs, relational institutions, grants, administration, registers.

[Former FEVA president, Ricardo Basterra, taught the workshop on director training (photoFEVA)] 

Gastronomy Workshop:  Coordinated by Damian Cebey from the Euzkal Etxea in San Nicolas and cooks in training who were in charge of Saturday’s dinner and lunch on Sunday.  Menus prepare were respectively, txorizo in cider and garlic mousse, squid in butter with rice and apples in cider (Saturday) and tuna mousse and blood sausage pintxo, hake in green sauce and caramelized fruit (Sunday).

 [Group of cooks from San Nicolas hard at work (photoFEVA)]

Workshops came to an end on Sunday with a talk by Professor Cesar Arrondo who provided a historical-cultural conversation for all participants.  Directors of the activity were very happy with the event.  Upcoming workshops: in Villa Maria (August 9-10^th) and Macachin (September 13-14^th).