This is a referential choir who has performed at prestigious cultural Basque and non Basque events in Chile over the last 75 years. Directed by Maestro Patricio Aburto for the last decades, it is composed of male voices, a few born in the Basque Country with the majority being Chilean of Basque descent, or music lovers who are friends of the Basques and their culture. The following lines come from “Berriketari,” the Basque-Chilean newsletter that is published in Santiago by Maria Angelica Carrasco and Ignacio Bastarrica.
Berriketari/Santiago, Chile. The Basque Choir of the Euzko Etxea in Chile celebrates 75 years of artistic career on September 3, the date that marks the arrival of the Winnipeg to the port in Valparaiso in 1939.
The story begins for some before, with the creation of the Basque Choir, founded and directed by Jose Salazar in 1932. Aboard the Winnipeg the artistic group was formed in the middle of the transoceanic voyage and it was already gaining notoriety, with members of the Alpino battalion during the Spanish Civil War. The group was formed and directed by Ramon de Muguruza and when they arrived to the Chilean port they disembarked as a musical group. When both groups united in Santiago, the Basque Choir of Santiago de Chile was formed.
On Sunday, September 7 the group celebrated its 75th at the Basque club. Their career has taken them to some of the most important stages in Chile, singing at social and artistic events around the country. Five years ago they took a beautiful trip to the whole Basque Country, a dream come true for many that took them to Araba, Gipuzkoa, and Bizkaia as well as Navarre and Iparralde.
Today with some emblematic Basque members and up to some fourth generation descendants, along with fellow Chileans, it is without a doubt one of the most representative musical ambassadors of Euskal Herria in Chile.
The group is directed by outstanding musician and teacher, Patricio Aburto Jara, and its president is Ricardo Nocera.
-Videos and choir performaces on Youtube
-Berriketari Newsletter from Santiago de Chile
Send to a friend
Add comment
