Last January, the Sabino Arana Fundazioa held its annual Sabino Arana Prize ceremony, which began in 1989, as the organizers explain, to:
“Recognize the merits of the award winners. Recognition and distinctions that go from the promotion and defense of Basque culture; their contribution to improving the image of the basques in the world with their participation in economy, sport, or cooperative projects and actions of any type; the fostering of the values of peace, equality, and coexistence; their dedication and constancy throughout their professional lives, etc.”
This year, one of the awards was not given to a person or an institution, but rather to a painting: Picasso’s Guernica, and to the meaning brought by this work of art to denounce the barbarity.
In their explanation, the origin of the work and the international repercussions caused by the Bombing of Guernica is juxtaposed with the disaster war has brought Humanity from that moment on. The explanation is as follows:
El “Guernica”: grito desgarrador, símbolo de paz
Sabino Arana Fundazioa quiere reconocer y premiar el universo simbólico del “Guernica”, ayer imagen del horror de la guerra, hoy símbolo de paz. En la primavera de 1937 muchos municipios vascos fueron objeto de sistemáticos bombardeos planificados y ejecutados para sembrar el terror en la población civil. Ancianos, mujeres y niños, a quienes hoy recordamos y homenajeamos, fueron víctimas de las bombas, las ametralladoras y el fuego; víctimas de la sinrazón, la barbarie, la crueldad y la miseria moral del fascismo. El genio creativo de Pablo Picasso inmortalizó para siempre a los ojos del mundo la imagen simbólica de aquellos crímenes de guerra. Hoy el “Guernica” es símbolo de la lucha por la paz, en un mundo en el que la luz por el fin de algunos conflictos históricos se ve ensombrecida por la tragedia de mil y una guerras, el drama humanitario de los refugiados y la lacra crónica de la pobreza y la desigualdad.
‘Guernica’, the heartbreaking scream, a symbol for peace
The Sabino Arana Foundation would like to recognize and award the symbolic universe of ‘Guernica’, once an image of the horror of war, and now a symbol of peace. In the spring of 1937, many Basque towns were subject to systematic bombing raids that were planned and executed to sow terror among the civil population. Old people, women and children, whom we remember and pay homage to today, were the victims of the bombs, the machine guns, and the fire; victims of the senselessness, the barbarism, the cruelty, and the moral misery of fascism. The creative genius of Pablo Picasso immortalized that symbolic image of those war crimes for all the world. Today, ‘Guernica’ is a symbol of the struggle for peace, in a world in which the light for the end of some historical conflicts is shadowed by the tragedy of a thousand and one wars, the humanitarian drama of the refugees, and the chronic scourge of poverty and inequality.
During the awards ceremony, a short play was given, in which dances, songs, poetry, and texts retold a story of the tragedies that began with the bombing of Guernica and were then drawn out, with no end in sight, by the dropping of the nuclear bombs of Japan, finally reaching us today, with the dramas of the refugees and migrants searching for safety and a future far from their homes. This matter, that of the refugees, worries us greatly, and we’ve talked about it before (here and here).
We’ll leave you with the video of that play, which we thought was beautiful, exciting, and full of symbolism. We’re sharing it for two reasons: one is because we think that bringing you messages that remind us of our commitment to helping refugees is necessary, and two, because, as we’ve already said, we found it to be a magnificent work.
We’ll also leave you with the text and lyrics to the songs that were sung, in order to help everyone understand the meanings behind the play.
So, below the video, you’ll find the complete script with participants.
CAST
On scene
- Dancers: OINKARI DANTZA TALDEA and MADDI DAVILA
- Musicians: IÑAKI DIEGUEZ, IGOR TELLETXEA,ARKAITZ MINER
- Singers: KLARA MENDIZABAL, DANIELA
- Actress: MIREN GOJENOLA
- Artist-painter: JOSE RAMON AMONDARAIN
- Foreigners: YUMI OYAMA,OLA MOBAYED, ABOUBAKAR GUIRASSY
Design
- Lights: XABIER LOZANO
- Video: IKER UGALDE
- Turns: IÑIGO TELLETXEA
- Atrezzo and costume: XABIER MUJIKA
- Lyrics: OIHANA IGUARAN, MIKEL LABOA
- Texts: AGURTZANE INTXAURRAGA
- Author and director: AGURTZANE INTXAURRAGA
- Executive producer: ASUN ETXEBARRIA, AMAIA KEREXETA
- Producer: HIKA TEATROA
ENTRANCE (0:00)
- Music: “IBARLA”
- Author: IÑAKI DIEGUEZ
- Live Musica: IÑAKI DIEGUEZ
- Lyrics: OIHANA IGUARAN
| “A ze tomate Eta porruak Aukera gure ortutik Zure eskura (bis)” |
“What tomatoes And leeks From our garden To your hands” (bis) |
ROMERÍA
- Dancers: GRUPO DE DANZA OINKARI
- Music: “Diztira” arin arin
- Author: IÑAKI DIEGUEZ
- Live Musica: IÑAKI DIEGUEZ, ARKAITZ MINER, IGOR TELLETXEA.
- Actress: MIREN GOJENOLA
- Singer: KLARA MENDIZABAL
| MIREN: Krak, eguna argi esnatu da Gernikan. Herriko plazara hurbildu zara soineko urdina eta amantal grisa soinean. Hantxe aritu zara astero bezala bata eta bestea agurtzen. Zer modu Xerafina KLARA: Zer moduz Xerafina MIREN: Egunon, Jose Mari! KLARA: Egunon Jose Mari! MIREN: Zientoka porru, tomate haziak eta letxugak saldu bitartean, irribarrez ikusi dituzu gazteen ziri-zarak… MIREN: Eta bizipoza besterik ez denean zure bihotzean…. Orduan gertatu da |
MIREN: Crack, Guernica lives a new day. You appear in the square, dressed in blue with a gray apron. Like every week, you greet your friends and neighbors. How are you, Serafina? KLARA: How are you, Serafina? MIREN: Good morning, José Mari! KLARA: Good morning, José Mari! MIREN: And while you sell a hundred leeks, tomato seeds, and some heads of lettuce, you smile watching the children playing. MIREN: You’re so happy you can’t imagine what’s about to happen. |
BOMBING (3:44)
- Artist-painter: J.R. AMONDARAIN
- Artist-sound: IÑIGO TELLETXEA
| MIREN: Ustekabean. Zerua eta lurra lehertu egin dira eta ikarak ito egin ditu zuen ahotsak. |
MIREN: Out of nowhere, the sky and earth explode and your voice is drowned out by terror. |
(4:32)
| MIREN: Lurra zartatzen hasi zaizu hankapean. Eguzkia ezkutatu aurretik hasi dira eztandak. Eta korri egin duzue, soinu handitik ihesi. Korri! Baina leherketak zuen atzetik doaz. | MIREN: The earth cracks under your feet. The explosions start before the sun disappears. And you start to run, fleeing far from the sound of the bombs. Even so, the bombs follow you. |
| MIREN: Burrunba handiak, sua eta gero kea. Eta belarriek min ematen dizute. Korri. Erre usaina sudur zuloetan. Diana zarete eguzki betearen argitan; eta ezereza, ezerez dardartia, soinean beldurra besterik ez. Zoko ilun baten ezkutatuta, lurra zuen azpian edo zerua zuen gainean noiz lehertuko zain. | MIREN: Enormous bangs, fire, and then smoke. Your ears ring in pain. Run. Your nose notices the smell of burning. You’re nothing more than a target in broad daylight. Shaking, terrorized, you hide in a dark hole, fearing the moment when the earth that holds you or the sky that covers you explodes over you. |
ESCAPE (5:04)
- Dancers: GRUPO DE DANZA OINKARI
- Music: IÑAKI DIEGUEZ
- Live Musica: IÑAKI DIEGUEZ, ARKAITZ MINER, IGOR TELLETXEA.
- Actress: MIREN GOJENOLA
- Sharing their experiences: ABOUBAKAR GUIRASSY (African), YUMI OYAMA (Japonese), OLA MOBAYED (Syrian).
ABOUBAKAR VOICEOVER(6:38)
MIREN: I was 13 when those armed men came in trucks. They didn’t even get out before they started firing. They killed my parents and took my brother. After that day, nothing was the same.
YUMI VOICEOVER (6:59)
MIREN: For many years, I tried to hide that I was a victim of a nuclear attack; I suppose I was afraid of rejection.
何年ものあいだ、自分が原爆の被爆者であることを隠してきました。周りに拒絶されるのが怖かったん
OLA VOICEOVER (7:41)
MIREN: Being a woman in times of war is much more difficult. I want to go to school and get an education, not get married.
ABUBAKAR VOICEOVER (7:51)
MIREN: No comer nada durante días. Nada y luego tal vez un poquito y luego de nuevo la nada, hasta que la muerte te come a ti.
OLA VOICEOVER (9:56)
MIREN: When all you know is death, it is impossible to live. Escape is your only option.
YUMI VOICEOVER (20:26)
MIREN: I want people to know that the bombing was just the start of the misfortune that befell thousands of citizens; and after that came the lengthy agony.
多くの市民にとって、爆撃は不運の始まりでしかなく、そのあとに、長い苦しみが待ち受けていたことを人々に知ってもらいたいです。
PAIN (10:50)
- Singer: KLARA MENDIZABAL
- Music: Mikel Laboa
| “IHESA ZILEGI BALITZ (Mikel Laboa)” | “IF ESCAPE WERE DIFFICULT” (Mikel Laboa) |
| Ihes betea zilegi balitz, Nunbait balego bakea, Ni ez nintzateke etxe ertzeko Loredien maitalea. – Ni ez nintzateke oinazearen menpeko mixerablea oihu zekenen destinatzale etsipenaren semea. – Ni ez nintzateke iñorentzako Eskandaluzko kaltea Lur hotz batetan aldatutako Landare sustrai gabea. – Ihes ederra zilegi balitz Urra ahal baledi katea, Ni ez nintzateke ontzi gabeko Itsas gizon ahalgea. |
If it were legal to escape, If there were peace somewhere, It wouldn’t be the lover Of the flowers around the house. – It wouldn’t be the wretched man Doubled over in pain Son of desperation The hardened fate of the scream. – It wouldn’t be a cause of scandal for anyone, Nor an uprooted plant Sowed in cold ground. – If escaping were permitted If it were possible to break the chain It wouldn’t a lonely sailor Lacking a boat. |
DRAMA OF THE GREEK REFUGEES (12:58)
- Co-citizens: Survivors of the bombings of Otxandio, Durango, Gernika, refugees, migrants, victims of war
- Dancers: GRUPO DE DANZA OINKARI y MADDI DÁVILA
- Singer: KLARA MENDIZABAL
Presented on stage is a dramatic rescue that the Syrian refugees experience daily on the Mediterranean coasts of Europe
Aurresku (15:09)
Perhaps the most emotional moment. Child Maddi Dávila dances an aurresku of honor, with Klara Mendizabal singing a capella, while the dancers in the Oinkarri group make the shoes of the boys and girls who’ve drowned in the Mediterranean or in conflicts in their countries mark the steps.
SCREAM OF PEACE (17:19)
- Melody: “Martxa baten notak” “Las notas de una marcha” (Mikel Laboa)
- Lyrics: OIHANA IGUARAN
| DANIELA ECHEVERRIA Izar uxoek behar lukete desioak eskatzeko eta kaiolek behar lukete txoritxoak askatzeko; – jauziak behar luke putzu bat aldez alde pasatzeko ta ukabilek harri-orri-ar hiru arte kontatzeko; – KLARA MENDIZABAL amek ez dute seme bat gorpu merezi besarkatzeko merezi dute lasaitasuna familiaz gozatzeko; – YUMI OYAMA (Japonia) ta hodei batek zeru osoa badauka zeharkatzeko pertsonen gisan libre behar du ametsen forma hartzeko – OLA MOBAYED(Siria) Bereizketarik gabeko mundu batek soberan du horma ez zapaltzaile ta ez zapaldu, konkistarik ez dagona – ABOUBAKAR GUIRASSY (Afrika) ez jatorria ta ez arraza, bere soilean pertsona, eskubideak lortzeko era ez izatea txanpona – DENAK sarraski batek inspiratutik egin bada zerbait ona begiratuta da bakearen sinbologia sakona – kolore biziz margo dezagun zuri-beltzean egona marra bakoitzak eman dagion elkarbizitzari forma |
DANIELA ECHEVERRIA Shooting starts should be only for making a wish and cages should only be for setting birds free; – jumps should only be made to get from one side of a well to the other and fists should only be for rock-paper-scissors counting to three; – KLARA MENDIZABAL Mothers do not deserve to have to embrace their child’s corpse, They deserve the tranquility of enjoying family time; – YUMI OYAMA (JAPAN) And if a cloud has the whole sky to travel through it has to be free like people to take the shape of dreams – OLA MOBAYED (SYRIA) A world without difference does not need borders, nor oppressors, nor oppressed, there would be no conquests – ABOUBAKAR GUIRASSY (Africa) No origin or race, just the person, may the way of obtaining rights not be in exchange for some coins – ALL If something good can come of being inspired by a massacre, the deep symbol of peace has been found – Let us color with vivid colors that which has been black and white and may every line serve to shape coexistence. |
Last Updated on Dec 20, 2020 by About Basque Country
