Euskal kultura

The singer Mikel Markez will be presenting his new songs to the London Basque Society on September 24. The musician from Gipuzkoa was also in London last year, invited by the Basque center, and the members are anxiously awaiting another visit. The center will begin the new semester with the concert, after having celebrated its first Mintzapraktika (day of conversation practice) of the summer which took place in Whitstable on the coast and whose photos can be found on the internet.

London, England. The London Basque Society will begin the semester strong, preparing its new courses (euskera, dance and txalaparta) and with a concert by singer Mikel Markez. It will take place on September 24 at the Haggerston Community Centre in Hackney. The Basque singer is currently working on his next album “Hiri hartan izan zen” (It was in that Town) and will present many of his new songs live.

Mikel Markez was born in Errenteria in 1971 and began to write songs and give his first concerts at the age of 15. Since then he has made eight albums and has given more than 1,500 concerts all over Euskal Herria. Abroad, he has performed in Europe, Cuba, Argentina, Venezuela and in the United States, where last year he toured various Basque clubs, in the West, with Erramun Martikorena.

Conversation practice on the beach

The Basque club hasn’t been idle this summer, besides the San Fermin festival and its recent Pepper Festival (see video), in July it celebrated its first Summer Conversation Practice. More than 20 members participated in this activities devoted to speaking Basque outside of the classroom, that took them to Whitstable on the coast where they also celebrated its annual Oyster Festival.

The weather was gloomy but the group settled on the beach and got into a circle where the youth began to practice euskera: “To introduce ourselves we passed a ball to one another while saying our name and where we are from, all in Euskara: Kaixo, ni Naiara naiz eta Sopelakoa naiz, Kaixo ni Unai naiz eta Gasteizkoa naiz, Kaixo, ni Jagoba naiz eta Enfield-ekoa naiz...,” the website explains.

London Mintzapraktika 2011

[Introductions on the beach at Whitstable (photo London EE)]

After that, it was time to each lunch, tortilla sandwiches prepared by Jone and Agurtzane (it was Geroa, Agurne and Ibon’s job to prepare the tortillas). After lunch the participants visited Whitstable in groups, learning facts and sharing what they had learned afterwards with the others in Euskera.

London Mintzapraktika 2011 2

[Jone and Agurtzane preparing the sandwiches (photo London EE)]

Following the history lesson they played another game, but this time with a consequence: questions were asked in Basque and those that didn’t know the answer had to undress and swim in the ocean, which was pretty cold in spite of the time of year. The day ended with a pint at a local pub, where the participants saw a magnificent sunset and toasted each other in Basque.

All were very pleased with the experience, and according to the participants, they are planning a second edition sometime in the next few months.

London Mintzapraktika 2011 3