The Association of the friends of Bertsolaritza Territories Bizkaia Introduction

Introduction

Together with Gipuzkoa, Bizkaia has been the historic territory where, in the century gone by, bertsolaritza has developed and evolved the most. The members of the Enbeita family, the Mugartegis, Azpillagas, Lopategis and the Amurizas … and many more bertsolaris were nurtured here.

Of the 1,223 performances in 2004, 27% have been held in this territory.

There are two outstanding areas in Bizkaian bertsolaritza – the not so euskaldun (Basque-speaking) locations of Bilbao city, the river Nervion right bank and the Encartaciones district; secondly, the more euskaldun locations of Arratia, Busturia, the Durango region and Lea-Artibai.

In the 1980s, the Bizkaia Ikastolas Association began working with bertsolaritza in the schools. That labour was highly successful and from it arose a new generation of Bizkaian bertsolaris.

Territories: Araba Bizkaia: History