Improvised Poetry & Song in the Basque Country

IMPROVISED POETRY & SONG IN THE BASQUE COUNTRY

History and development
Competitions and championships

Masters of improvisation
Becoming a bertsulari
Basque Country Improvisation Championship 2009

Partners :

Aquitaine BNSA
EJGV

Competitions and championships

The most entertaining aspect of improvisation is the duel between improvisers and the championships where presence of mind, relaxation, memory and a sense of poetry play a dominating role.

Bertsularis during the final of the general competition 2001 (photo: XDZ)

Competitions and championships take place without any scenery, on an extremely simple stage: just a few chairs in a line with men and women who get up to sing!

Bertsularis wear no make-up and perform in everyday clothes (no special costume or particular style of clothing) generally with no effects at all: with their hands behind their back or in their pockets, verse is rarely accompanied by gestures. All of these features will surprise non Basque-speaking spectators.

Anoeta velodrome (Donostia-San Sebastián) packed on the day of the final of the general competition in December 1997 (photo XDZ)

Today, this art of performing which bertsularis represent almost despite themselves, is extraordinarily successful: almost ten thousand spectators attended the Anoeta velodrome in Donostia-San Sebastián for the 2001 ‘‘Txapelketa’’ (championship) broadcast live by Euskal Telebista, Basque television.

 


 

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The guides

You will be accompanied throughout this site by improvisers. During your visit: click on their photos to discover what they have to say.