euskalkultura.eus

The Mayor of Plasentia, Canada, Wayne Power, and Councilwoman Noella Collins, will be in Plentzia, Bizkaia starting Friday, until the 17th of October to work on a sister-city agreement between the Plentzia in the Basque Country (formerly Plasencia de Butron) and that founded nearly 5 centuries ago in Newfoundland by Basque whalers who left their imprint there.  Article by Virginia Urieta published today in El Correo. 

Virginia Urieta.   The Basque whalers who landed on the Canadian shores nearly five centuries ago, baptized these new lands with names from their homeland.  But of the more than 40 locations with Basque names, the last remaining is Placentia, located on the Avalon Peninsula in the Canadian Province of Newfoundland and Labrador.  A name that Basque researcher and historian, Sabino Laucirica, expert in this area, had already connected to Plentzia, formerly known as Placentia de Butron.  The footprints of the fishermen that arrived to this port in 1540 have persisted ever since.  The fishermen and whalers from Placentia converted that area into one of the largest Basque colonies in North America, even though all that remains is the written record left by Plentzia Domingo Ibargaray.  The local houses that also have a beautiful beach and a unique mark, some ikurriñas and tombstones, as well as the verses that have been forged in Basque.

All of this legacy will be commemorated over the coming days with the visit of Canadian representatives who hope to strengthen ties and create a sister-city relationship between the two cities.  The mayor of Plasentia, Wayne Power, and Councilwoman Noella Collins, will be in town starting tomorrow through October 17 in order to carry out “what has been longed for many years,” as the mayor, David Crestelo, recognized. Both towns began to forge institutional ties in 2011, and thanks to the efforts of Laucirica. 

“The sister-city agreement is a historical debt between the two towns, they have great appreciation for our culture, and the industrial mark that we developed there.  We are happy and excited,” the mayor said.  The municipal representatives have worked on a program of events aimed both at enlivening the Canadians visit as well as to uncover the history of the whalers from Plentzia for neighbors and visitors. This Friday they have an appointment at the Provincial Palace where Power and Collins will be welcomed by Ibone Bengoetxea, Provincial Deputy of Public Administration and Institutional Relations, Leyre Madariaga, Director of Foreign Relations and Estibaliz Urcelay, Foreign Affairs technician from the Basque Government.

In the afternoon, at 6:30pm, there will be a reception in their honor that will include txalaparta and an Aurresku in the Ontziola Plaza, where they will also be presented a makila.  The public event on the sister-city will take place at 6:45pm at a roundtable that will include the participation of Sabin Laucirica and other experts.  Topics to be discusses include the historic relationship between the two towns, the current interest in both cultures, and the future Ocean Endeavour trip to Canada across lands that were traveled by the Basque whalers.  A historic tour of the town and visits to the underwater winery or museums, among others activities that will be included in the weekend’s activities.