The North American Basque Organizations Bertsolari Saioa
The North American Basque Organization will host a full Bertsolari event, featuring the U.S. based Bertsolaris along with special guests from the Basque Country:
Nerea Ibarzabal & Maddalen Arzallus
The bertsolaritza performance will start at 4:00pm and end at about 5:30pm and is free to attend. The improvised versus will be translated into English in real time onto an adjacent screen.
The event will be followed by a special dinner at 7:00pm with music provided by Mercedes Mendive.
Nerea Ibarzabal Salegi (Markina-Xemein, 1994) is a bertsolari and writer who has a degree in Journalism. She has also worked as a screenwriter and press collaborator. She started improvising bertsos as a child, and made her career in tournaments and contests for young people. She is the current champion of Bizkaia, and a finalist of the 2022 National Bertsolari Championship. Bar Gloria, his first novel, was published last year. She participated in Jaialdi 2015 in Boise with Xabi Paya.
Maddalen Arzallus Antia (Donibane Lohitzune, 1990) is a bertsolari and translator who lives in Hendaia. Currently she is a TV presenter on ETB1's Biba Zuek show. As a translator, she translates comics and children's books into Basque, such as Asterix and Obelix comics. As a bertsolari, after winning several titles (txapela) in the inter-school Basque Country championships, she has achieved the following results: she has been a finalist in all the Xilaba championships (Bertsolari championships in Iparralde) and runner-up in 2014, and in the National Bertsolari Championship, she reached the semi-finals in all her participations (2009, 2017 and 2022).
Mercedes Mendive
Live Stream Link
