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Text Box: Joseba Zulaika is a Professor and Director of the Center for Basque Studies. Dr. Zulaika will lead a discussion of Jorge Oteiza's life and work. It will include a PowerPoint presentation with many photos of Oteiza and his works. Dr. Zuliaka will comment on Oteiza's South American trip during the 1930s and 1940s, his apostles at the basilica of Arantzazu in the early 1950s, his Grand Sculpture Prize at the Sao Paulo Biennial in 1957, the

Text Box: "endgame" by which he stopped being a sculptor, his in

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Volume I, Issue 3

Oteiza exhibit catalog for his 2003 New York show

Jorge Oteiza in front of the entrance he designed for the Basilica in Arantzazu

Text Box: The Basque Educational Organization is pleased to announce two very special performances by one of the most prominent figures in popular Basque music, Juan Mari Belran. For this inaugural visit to the U.S., Juan Mari will be accompanied by five other Basque musicians, including a vocalist. The first performance will take place on Zubi Zuri eve, Friday November 7th following a 6:30pm dinner at the Basque Cultural Center. The second performance will culminate Zubi Zuri on November 8th.
Born in Etxarri Aranatz (Navarra) in 1947, Beltran has been immersed in music from very early on his life. At the age of 11 he was playing the clarinet and txistu, performing with two separate musical groups. At 16 he became part of the folk group ARGIA, during this time he

studied the work of the previous generations of popular Basque music, among them the txalapartaris, the Zuaznabar and Goikoetxea brothers, albokaris such as León Bilbao and Txilibrin, txistularis like Mauricio Elizalde and Isidro Ansorena, and dulzaina players such as Montte brothers and Paulo Sagarna.
Throughout his life Juan Mari has been involved with several musical organizations, such as the “Grupo de Música Contemporánea” that was founded by the vanguard painter Rafael Ruiz Balerdi. Later on he created a group with indigenous basque instruments called SUSTRAIAK, and went on to create the folk groups AZALA and TXANBELA. He now belongs to the latter, and also has an artistic partnership with Joxan Goikoetxea. Many different CDs have been produced from the fruits of his labor with these groups and many
musicians of the Basque Country.
Beltran has tirelessly researched and studied popular Basque music and instruments. He has published many works in Eusko Ikaskuntza, Ethnographic notebooks, Ethnology of Navarra, and Txistulari just to name a few. He’s also published the CD and the film “Euskal Herriko Soinu Tresnak”, considered to be one of the most important documents of popular Basque organography. He has

been giving classes in txistu, alboka, dulzaina and txalaprta in the Music Conservatory in Hernani since 1985, and it was here that he created and directed the School of Txalaparta. In recent years he has given conferences and courses in different forums, including the Dance Association of the Basque Country and the University of the Basque Country.
These days he works in the continual creation of Herri Musikaren Txokoa, a small museum in Oiartzun, consisting of material he’s been compiling throughout the years: a wide collection of instruments, a library, record library and archives of images, photographs and films.
Now he presents ARDITURRI, his latest CD and the first he’s produced on his own, although he is joined by four other musicians to form a quintet. In this recording Juan Mari Beltran presents us with a complete journey along our traditional musical path, Basque and otherwise. With Arditurri, Beltran succeeds in combining the ancient and the modern with a level of creativity and livliness never heard until now.

The Basque Educational Organization is truly excited to have Juan Mari and his group join us for these two special performances. To insure your appreciation of the performance, Juan

Text Box: Congratulations to Jesus
Arriada, Johnny Curutchet,
Martin Goicoechea, and Jesus Goñi for their 2003 National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship Award, America’s highest honor in folk art! They will receive their award on September 18th on Capitol Hill, Washington D.C.

Text Box: This Fellowship Award recognizes the Bertsolariak’s artistic excellence and supports their continuing contributions to America’s traditional arts heritage. These Bertsolaris have been delighting audiences across the West with their fast-paced and

Text Box: witty vocal improvisations. As Meg Glaser, Artistic Director of the Western Folklife Center, describes their skills: “They are respected widely for their strength of voice, skill in improvisation, gift of language, and knowledge of Basque culture.” These four individuals demonstrate their poetic skills

for enthusiastic audiences by expounding freely on a variety of topics, many relating to the life of the Basque sheepherder, such as lost love, lost wages, or lost sheep.
Joxe Mallea-Olaetxa, of the University of Nevada Reno’s Center for Basque Studies, nominated the four Bersolariak.

Mari, prior to every song, will provide background into his songs and the instruments that he using, which we will translate for you. This feature lends itself to our goal of Zubi Zuri being both entertaining and educational.

For further information on Juan Mari Beltran and his music visit our website where we provide an expanded biography and a set of links.

Preview Beltran’s
Arditurri at
www.e-boza.com and search for “Beltran”