Every year, we celebrate Aberri Eguna with all our heart. We had to repeat this year, so here’s our article for Aberri Eguna 2023.
For us, it’s one of the biggest days in the year, and since we have a blog, we try to give it the prominence it deserves. Every year, we explain how it makes us feel and why we believe the Aberri Eguna is one of the most important days of the year. We’ve written a lot about it, dedicating our message and our memory to the patriots of yore and of today, be they here or abroad. Here’s a summary of the articles we’ve written year after year.
This year, as ever, we hold a special place in our memory for all our Basque brothers and sisters who will be celebrating today all over the world, and who increase the reach and stature of the Basque people with their hard work helping to build our nation.
We’ve been preparing specific images for the Aberri Eguna every year for social media. We’re thrilled to see them being used by so many people.
It is, no doubt, a perfect day for ikurriñas to wave from our balconies and social network profiles. And we want to help with that. So, this year, we’ve decided to “facilitate” access to them so that all who wish to use them easily may.
May your ikurriña wave proudly, physically or virtually, to remember that we want a Free Basque Homeland of Free People.
We’d also like to share a short video with you that we filmed with the ikurriña waving proudly in Ea. We recorded it the day before the Aberri Eguna. We leave it here remember this year’s Aberri Eguna, along with our friends at the Limako Arantzazu Euzko Etxea.
Finally, our regular readers will know of our deep appreciation for poet, patriot, and martyr for the Cause of the Basque People Estepan “Lauaxeta” Urkiaga Basaraz. His poems can be read here.
We mention him because among all his poems, there is one, “Mendigoxaliarena,” which he wrote in 1931, which seems almost a premonition of what would happen to Basque nationalist youth five years later. The poem has always left a strong impression on us, and Ken Zazpi adapted it into an extraordinary song.
«Dana emon biar yako matte dan azkatasunari».
Gora Euzkadi Azkatuta
Mendigoxaliarena- Lauaxeta
Mendigoxaliarena** |
Mendigoxaliarena |
|---|---|
| Mendi eze, ikurrin eder, azke nai zattut axian. Amar gasteren lerdena makilla luzez bidian! |
Moist mountain, beautiful ikurriña, I want you free in the wind. The song of ten young men with their walking sticks on the path. |
| Mendi-bitxidor berdiok, arin or duaz kantari: «Dana emon biar yako matte dan azkatasunari». |
Beautiful green mountains, there they go fast, singing: “Everything must be given for such beloved freedom.” |
| Eta ixil dago arratsa Euzkadi’ko lur-ganian. Amar gasteren lerdena makilla luzez bidian! |
And the evening is quiet over the land of the Basque Country. The song of ten young men with their walking sticks on the path! |
| Gastedi orren didarra bai-dala didar zolija! Aberri baten samiñez urduri dabil errija. |
The cry of these young men that is pain! For the pain of a fatherland, the people are nervous. |
| Azkatasun-goxalderuntz sugarra dira basuak. Sugarra basuak eta zidar argija itxasuak. |
For the sweetness of freedom the forests are in flames. The forests are in flames, and a silver sea shines. |
| Or duan ozte-aldrea aberri-minez kantari: «Dana emon biar yako matte dan azkatasunari». |
There go the “ozte-aldrea” singing for the love of the fatherland: “Everything must be given for such beloved freedom.” |
| Gaste orreik goruntz duaz abesti eta ikurriñez. Lañuan baño tiro otsak: bedartza dager odolez. |
Up go those young men singing and with an ikurriña. But gunshots ring out in the mist: The grass is stained red. |
| Ikaraz duaz usuak, mendija dago ixillean, Amar gasteren lerdena bixitza-barik lurrean! |
The doves fly off in fear, The mountain is silent. The song of ten young men Lifeless on the ground! |
| Eta illuntziko bakian norbattek darrai kantari: «Dana emon biar yako matte dan azkatasunari». |
And in the evening peace Someone still sings: “Everything must be given for such beloved freedom.” |
** The original Basque poem can be read here.
Last Updated on Dec 3, 2023 by About Basque Country
