To Eguzkitza

Bilbo

I said before that to create spaces for Euskera to develop is a task of titans.

Mainly because of the two linguistic giants that share the geography of Euskal Herria, Spanish and French.

So whenever Euskera loses one of its champions, one realizes more needs to be done.

I was glad to read about the hommage to Eguzkitza's work and legacy at Berria:

Always remembered… a thousand years on (*)

A group of authors organised a beautiful, moving event at the Euskalduna Hall in Bilbo yesterday to pay tribute to the late Andolin Eguzkitza

Irune Berro – BILBO

As a child he played with trains and planes. From a young age Andolin Eguzkitza (1953, Santurtzi-Bizkaia – 2004, Bilbo) had the spirit of an explorer, according to his brother, Iñaki Eguzkitza. He was an untiring explorer of the Basque language. He was a writer, linguist and member of the Academy of the Basque Language, the Euskaltzaindia. When he was 15 he joined the Basque language race; from his hometown of Santurtzi (Bizkaia) he set out on the road to become a Basque speaker. So remembering the numerous Basque citizens who have taken that road, tribute was paid to Andolin Eguzkitza yesterday in the context of the Korrika cultural events. The event, entitled Mila urte igaro eta… (*), was organised at the Euskalduna Hall in Bilbo by a number of authors to pay tribute to the Basque language lover who died last year.

The event brought together a broad spectrum of representatives of Basque culture and Basque language activity; among those present were Xabier Mendiguren-Bereziartu, the General Secretary of Kontseilua; Gabi Basañez, a member of the EHE; Joan Mari Larrarte, secretary of the Board of the EKT (the publishers of BERRIA); Andres Urrutia and Xabier Kintana, the chairman and secretary, respectively, of the Euskaltzaindia; Kirmen Uribe, the writer, and Mikel Martinez, the actor.

(*) “Mila urte igarota, ura bere bidean…”: the beginning of an epic poem dating back to approximately the 16th century about the Battle of Beotibar (1321), which means that the water follows its course a thousand years on.

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