euskalkultura.eus

With a degree in geography, Roger Sallas is a youth that has always been preoccupied by the world of culture and associations, revitalizing the neighborhood in his native Badalona.  Since April 2014, he is the force behind the Basque showcase in Catalonia which is Barcelona’s Euskal Etxea. 

Joseba Etxarri.  It isn’t to fill the hole left by Aitor Arruti, nine months ago when he left Barcelona at the Euskal Etxea.  The Barcelona Basque club is a lively and dynamic entity that takes the daily pulse of the culture and current events in the Basque Country as well as in Catalonia.  This is the task Arruti left his successor to coordinate the rich life and Basque contribution that the Basque club carries out at the rear of the Montcada Plaza in Barcelona where its headquarters is.  Roger Sallas, 28, has organized and maintained a high standard of nearly 150 annual events, three large festivals, a hundred Basque students and several thousand participating annually in club events.

-Is it an issue or is it true that there is chemistry between Catalans and Basques?

-I think so, there is great mutual interest.  The audience that attends club events is made up mainly of Catalans and I think that we Catalans feel empathy for Basque and the Basques.  We consider the Basque culture as a sister, very different from ours, but a sister nonetheless and it think it works both ways.

-You have been in charge of coordinating Basque club activities since last April.

-I have also actively participated in the associative world, and the revitalization of social and neighborhood life.  I got to know the club through social media.  At one time I could travel to the Basque Country and get to know it better and I participated in an exchange with Santurtzi, Eskoriatza…and when I was 20-21 I rowed at the Rowing Club in Badalona that is sistered with that in Hondarribia.  In 2012, I made a trans-Pyrenean trip from the Mediterranean to Cantabria in 34 days; in September 2013, I presented the photos of this trip at the club.  Who would have thought that some months later I would embark on this adventure!

-What does the Basque club offer to its Catalan environment for visitors from Euskadi?

-We are a Basque entity with a Barcelona heart and as an extension of Catalonia.  Our goal is to serve as a showcase of contemporary Basque culture in this sense we provide these groups, artists, individual creators and Basque collectivities to use us to get exposure in front of Catalan and Mediterranean publics.  We program more than 150 activities throughout the year in various areas.  We have three big festivals like EH Sona music festival, Zinemaldea and Literaldia, where we invite and present the city the latest production in the Basque panorama in each area.

-Your restaurant’s pintxos área also famous.

-All you have to do is see them to understand (smile).  The restaurant is in the Montcada Plaza.  Along with it the Basque club’s entrance is on the Arc of San Vincenç which also houses some activity; depending on the time of year; the txoko is open every day except Sunday; we also have children’s activities in Basque especially for couples with one Basque-speaking parent and want their children to have a fun place to play and socialize in Basques, we have workshops, dantza talks…

-You are very active on social media…

-We have a website, activity blog, we’re on Facebook, Twitter and we use the network and social media as an everyday tool.

-What are you currently coordinating?

-In January, among other things, we will close the cycle of Historical Memory of the Basque Country and we will celebrate San Sebastian.  In February we will start Zinemaldia, and for the second year in a row, we will go outside our clubhouse to show films in the Girona theaters.  In March we will initiate Literaldia and this year we are finalizing our version of Korrika, the Korrikursa that will be on April 21.