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This Saturday, November 19th the Belgian town of Lendelede, in the province of Flandes Occidental, will be the site of the first local Txitxiburduntzi, organized by Manu Behaeghe, a Belgian of Basque origin, with roots in Zarautz.  The goal is to introduce the Basque culture and gastronomy to Belgium, while raising money for the Olabe Project, a project trying to recover an ancient farmhouse in Bedarona, Bizkaia.

Bego Miñaur/Donostia-San Sebastián. A Txitxiburduntzi in Belgium to raise money for the renovation of a 400 year-old Baserri in Bedarona.  A Belgian that is half from Zarautz and an Englishman from Elorrio, united for their love of the Basque culture.  A story that surprised us, but which is only an example of how far links and connections reach in the Diaspora.  Let’s break it down.

Next Saturday, November 19th a Txitxiburduntzi will be celebrated in the Belgian town of Lendelede, in the province of Flandes Occidental.  The event has been organized by Manu Behaeghe, a Belgian with roots in Euskal Herria.

“I’m Basque on my mother’s side.  My great-great grandmother was from Bergara but lived in Zarautz, where her husband was the city veterinarian for more than 60 years,” he told EuskalKultura.com.  “They had three children: one son immigrated to the US and died a bachelor with no children.  The two daughters, one of them my grandmother, married two Belgian brothers and settled in Belgium.

Nevertheless, the family stayed in touch with Euskal Herria and Many has spent several summers as a child in Zarautz.  

The Olabe Project

In 2012, Manu began researching his roots and created a website about what he found.  He also started visiting the Basque Country again, this time with his wife.  “We made many friends on Facebook and last September we met Joseba Attard, a herder from Elorrio,” he recounts.

And here comes the Belgium-Bedarona connection.  Joseba Attard is the son of an English man and a Basque woman, and despite growing up in England, when he was 27 he went to live in Euskal Herria.  He is a graphic designer, but one of his passions is shearing sheep. In fact, he met Manu in Axpe at the Sheepdog Trials.

Attard and his wife, Joanna, also English, had just turned their lives around and bet everything on a dream: renovating the Olabe farmhouse in Bedarona, a huge Baserri that is more than 400 years old, and convert it into a unique cultural meeting place.

Belgian Txitxiburduntzi

“We talked long and hard about the Basque culture, sheep, food….,” Manu said.  “At one point I told Joseba that I liked txistorra and he taught me the word txitxiburduntzi.”  [Txitxiburduntzi is a Basque word that describes the event where barbeque products from the slaughter, principally txistorra and chorizo.] 

Manu and his wife returned to Belgium with the idea of organizing an event to support the Olabe project and ruminating the word txitxiburduntzi in their heads.  “With the help of some friends we created a company to import txistorra, chorizo, txakoli…and we decided to organize a txitxiburduntzi to introduce the Basque culture, its music and gastronomy….”

The event began as something for family and friends, but now they have sold 75 spots.  Anyone wishing to attend the event, should email Manu here.

We hope that the initiative is a total success and that it meets its goals.  A story that unites Belgium, Bedarona, Zarautz and Elorrio…and which has only just begun.