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Amaia Gavica. The ballad itself is dedicated to Xalbador, a Basque sheepherder and poet from the 1900’s, and in English, “Xalbadorren Heriotzean” translates to “upon the death of Xalbador.” The song was created after Xalbador’s death in order to preserve his legacy and commemorate the cultural figurehead. “Xalbadorren Heriotzean” is melancholic and the undeniable hint of sadness embedded within the melody, when sung traditionally, is moving and evokes emotion. 

Despite the touching nature of the traditional version of the song, Glitterfox and their lead singer, Solange Igoa, decided to add their own personal touch on their rendition, implementing more of a danceable, disco-like tempo and melody. 

Solange, being a Basque-American herself, first learned this song at the Basque summer camp, Udaleku, in 2005. Her father, Pierre Igoa, who has a musical background himself, spoke of how Solange’s involvement in various Basque cultural engagements, such as her visit to Udaleku as well as her participation in Basque dancing, has been beneficial to her throughout her life. 

“It allowed her to make a lot of great friends, and I think a lot of the great friends were very supportive when… the band came out with the Basque rendition of that well known song,” said Pierre. 

Solange first introduced the band to the ballad while warming up before beginning to record a different soundtrack. The band heard her singing “Xalbadorren Heriotzean” and, according to Solange, they “connected with the song.” They then decided to record their rendition and film an accompanying music video, which was released on May 7 of last year. 

“We’ve started playing it at every show, and obviously when we play it somewhere like Boise, there's more people in the crowd, but it doesn't matter where we play it– people really enjoy it,” said Andrea Walker, a band member who is also married to Solange. 

The Basque Country itself is small, only about 125 miles wide, with a population of about 2.2 million. Within that population, however, only 43.3% are Basque speakers, with 62.4% of that population having some knowledge of Basque. Within the last two decades this number has increased by 11 percentage points from 2001-2021.

Outside of the Basque Country, there’s an estimated one million Basque people living overseas, according to the Smithsonian. Of those that immigrated to the United States, most resided in northwestern states, such as Wyoming, Nevada, Idaho and California. Boise, Idaho contains one of the largest Basque populations and even commemorates the culture with a “Basque Block” in the downtown area. 

Solange, as a Basque American who grew up attending various Basque cultural events near her, knew some of the people at her concerts when singing “Xalbadorren Heriotzean,” and, according to Walker, they had a very positive response. 

“It was just a really sweet moment to see all the Basque community that you grew up with, people who have known you since you were a child, and to see them get so excited about your art and something you have done,” said Walker. 

But it wasn’t only the Basque’s who appreciated Glitterfox’s rendition as American listeners have also taken a liking to the song.

“There’s Americans singing it at our shows now, and they are kind of just singing along phonetically, just the best that they can, and they don’t even know what they are saying, but I think it’s really magical,” said Solange. 

This favorable reaction, although very cherished by the lead singer, is not necessarily something she expected from those who don’t have an immediate connection to the Basque culture. 

“When something happens that's a new take on an old thing, I think a lot of people get really excited,” said Solange. “So I was expecting Basque people to be excited, but I wasn’t expecting just your average American person to be as excited as they have been.”

With this excitement from American people towards the Basque song, Pierre said that the small part the band has done in not only preserving but also performing the Basque language could actually help bring more attention to the culture as a whole. 

“It kind of awakens their Basque identity, and for those who aren’t Basque, it just places this small area, the Basque Country, on the map and makes people take notice of who the Basques are,” said Pierre.