The best Azoka possible

Since March 2020, a kind of sticky fog has enveloped us. Almost nothing of what we do and feel is total, there are hardly any full smiles or absolute sorrows. Who else who less, we all have some drama or uncertainty added to the already arduous task of getting ahead, and, therefore, nothing makes us entirely happy; in the same way, we repeat to ourselves that there are still those who are worse off than us, and, consequently, we do not allow ourselves total regrets, just in case.

The fifty-fifth edition of the Durango Fair has begun, this humid December 4, under that gloom. It is not the same as always, the one we know; In these first hours, the echoes of the comings and goings of the visitors through the corridors arrive fainter, yes, but they arrive, they are heard. And it is not a little.

The spaces that last year only inhabited books and volunteer workers, this year once again serve as a meeting point for fans of culture, workers of publishers and record companies, and creators and creators, albeit in a more organized way and relaxed (visits are by appointment and in groups of 1200 people). There are the masks, the limited capacities and that shadow that we do not get rid of, but it has brought them together again. And that’s a lot.

“It’s back”

To open the day’s program, the Bulego group sang this morning in Plateruena, as if it were the Azoka’s spokesperson, “Bueltan da” is back. He has done it in the Ahotsenea space, in a half-hour presentation in reduced format (guitar, keyboard and voice) of his new album, before 410 fans who have exhausted the capacity of the room. The Azokitia group, one of the greatest musical phenomena of the moment, arrives in Durango with the album “Erdian oraina”.

Also, in this case, the writer from iurretar Joseba Sarrionandia is back to his place of origin, and a great expectation had been created before his possible presence in the presentation of the collective work of the Ikaselkar publishing house “Kuku! Emozioen bilduma” , in which he is in charge of the texts of one of the copies.

Sarrionandia has not made an appearance (later it has been seen in the corridors of Landako), but Karmele Jaio, Peru Magdalena, Maite Mutuberria and other names behind this project have created a wonderful atmosphere in the Saguganbara space, dedicated to the little ones. “Kuku! Emozioen bilduma” offers picture books and emotion-based games in exquisite format.

“With optimism and responsibility”

In the official opening ceremony that the San Agustin cultural center has hosted today, converted during the Durango Fair in Szenatokia, the president of Gerediaga Elkartea, Nerea Mujika, thanked the public and private sponsors that make Azoka possible for their participation, And she has been satisfied that, despite all the difficulties, the possibility of meeting in Durango is a reality from today: “We have fulfilled the objective and the reason for being of Azoka, to serve as a meeting point.”

“The beginning has moved us a lot. And although it is not going to be the Azoka that we wanted, we face it with optimism and responsibility,” said Mujika.

Nerea Mujika

In an act presented by Pilar Kaltzada and interpreted in the sign language Amaia Eguren, the musician Gontzal Mendibili remembered the recently deceased Xabier Castillo Xeberri singing the songs “Gogoa non dugu” and “Bagare”.

To end the event, full of institutional and political representatives, the actors Jon Ander Urresti and Matxalen de Pedro, from the Horman Poster group, have offered an interesting performance in which they invited those present to immerse themselves in culture.

It is true that it will be in a different way, but the 56th edition of the Durango Fair will offer the possibility of immersing yourself in creation in Basque. Perhaps not as deeply as one would like, but the opportunity is there. It is not, at all, little.