euskalkultura.eus

Olavarria, situated some 350 kilometers southwest of Buenos Aires, celebrated its 149th birthday and the most representative institutions in the city gathered to organize and celebrate the anniversary.  The event took place in the Helios Eseverri Park, a name that acknowledges the large Basque immigration to the area, and included a food stand manned by the Euskal Etxea.  Gure Etxe Maitea also informs about Udaleku, and its dancer’s participation at the Festival of Communities in Azul. 

Olavarria, Argentina.   The Gure Etxe Maitea ended the month of November with a weekend full of activities. On Sunday, the 27th, they were part of the city’s 149th anniversary celebration, and joined in at the Eseverri Helios Park with nearly 55,000 people.  Representing the community, the club had a food stand, where they sold everything that they had prepared for the occasion.

In the words of club president, Marisu Mendizabal, “the day included a lot of work, but there were many people helping out and so we were able to handle the large numbers who came to our stand.  We prepared and sold 200 kilograms of potatoes.  We also provided our typical cakes with almonds, walnuts, chestnuts, cashews and raising, and specialties like cured ham.”

The celebration took place on November 27th, but Olavarria’s anniversary is November 25th, the day the local paper published an article on the Basques and the Basque origin of the city’s name.  Complete article here.

Udaleku and the Festival of Communities in Azul

The youngest of the Euskal Etxea were also busy last weekend.  The children, who attend workshops on dance and culture throughout the year, closed the year with a sleepover at the clubhouse, “a sort of Udaleku.”  Coordinated by teachers, Julia Arouxet and Ana Guassone Elortegui, the children danced, played, painted and prepared their own meals and desserts.

The intermediate dantzaris, on the other hand, traveled to Azul to participate in their Festival of Communities.  There they performed on the main stage along with the Arima Gazte group from the Gure Txokoa Basque Club, and the director of both dance groups, Ana Elortegui.  The local Basque community also participated in the festival with a food stand.

Visit by Javier Cameno

On November 16th, the Basque Club in Olavarria welcomed journalist from Vitoria-Gasteiz, Javier Cameno.  “Cameno, besides being a journalist, is a very well-known choir director in the Basque Country and came to Argentina as our guest to participate in the choir gathering in Mar del Plata.  While he is here, we have invited him to our Euskal Etxea.  His father is from Argentina, and so he knows a lot about the Basque immigration and that is the topic of the talk he gave,” the president of Gure Etxe Maitea explained.

As part of the club’s November activities, the Olavarria Basque Club also participated in Semana Nacional Vasca.