Category: Culture

Verde Prato, sweet rebel

Posted on by eki

Verde Prato, sweet rebel

Text: Manuela Estel / Photos & Videos: Verde Prato
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With Verde Prato, Ana Arsuaga has built a unique, unclassifiable musical universe that resonates throughout Europe.

One evening in 2019 in Bilbao, Ana Arsuaga was hurriedly looking for a stage name. She had just agreed to perform solo for the first time at an experimental music concert, but not under her real name. “I didn’t want all my friends to turn up,” she explains. So she looked for a vague name that revealed nothing about the artist, whether male or female, solo or part of a group.

That’s when an image came to mind. An old poster that had always hung on the walls of her parents’ house in Tolosa. It was for a play her mother had put on when she was little, called Verde Prato. Spontaneously, Ana made it her stage name and rushed to write three songs.

Six years later, “Neskaren Kanta”, one of the improvised tracks from that evening, has racked up almost 2 million plays on Spotify. And the name “Verde Prato” is now appearing on concert halls and festivals across Europe.

This is the paradox of Verde Prato: music born out of discretion, but carried by a voice that is impossible to ignore: a unique project that is both deeply personal and universal in scope.

The path of someone who defies categorisation

Defining Verde Prato’s musical style is a million-dollar question. She herself hesitates, searches and then says with a smile: “eclectic”. And how could it be otherwise? Ana Arsuaga grew up surrounded by eclecticism.

Her mother taught theatre. Her father, a house painter, passed on his passion for books and music. And her aunties, who were pianists, encouraged her to take up the keyboard at an early age. Art in all its forms is omnipresent in the Arsuaga family.

As a child, Ana already felt different. She devoured books, preferred films in their original language and gradually distanced herself from her peers’ tastes. “Tolosa is small. You can quickly become an outsider there. It made me want to leave, to see other places.” Art became a refuge and soon a path in life.

After graduating from high school, she enrolled at the Bilbao School of Fine Arts and co-founded the free-spirited and noisy trio Serpiente with two friends. “We had a blast making music; we didn’t care how it sounded.” The band experimented with their own version of post-punk, inspired by Jayne Casey, Cate Le Bon and Siouxie and the Banshees. “Being a girl band changed everything. There were no expectations. No specific goal. Just the desire to create.”

It was during a Serpiente concert that artist Jon Mantxi spotted her. He invited her to play solo. That was the birth of Verde Prato.

With just the first three songs she played that night, she laid the foundations for a unique and varied universe: “Neskaren Kanta”, a spectral reggaeton, “Mutilaren Kanta”, a spellbinding incantation, and “Galtzaundi”, a traditional song filtered through minimalist electro.

Invitations started pouring in right away. She created prolifically. Concerts followed one after another and, without ever having planned it, Ana Arsuaga took Verde Prato (and the Basque language!) on a journey from Tolosa to Prague, from the Azores to London.

“Her mother later told her that Verde Prato is the title of a fairy tale by Giambattista Basile, in which the princess saves the prince.”

On stage, a complete and committed work

Her mother later told her that Verde Prato is the title of a fairy tale by Giambattista Basile, in which the princess saves the prince. Ana couldn’t have found a better name. From the outset, she has been charting her own course. A radical proposition that draws as much on the heritage of the bertxularis and liturgical chants as on contemporary performance.

At the time, a new artistic wave was already shaking up the Basque Country and inspiring her deeply. Ana cites Mursego in particular: “She played the cello, threw in loops, added electronics… It was powerful, new, it made an impression on me.” Ana comes from the trio Serpiente, where anything goes, so why hold back on her desire to experiment? “I said to myself: if I want to do reggaeton, I’ll do it. If I like flamenco, I’ll slip it into a song.”

Her common thread is her minimalism. Alone on stage, without artifice or accompaniment, she imposes her magnetic presence. A keyboard, looping, and a raw voice that plays with extremes. Almost nothing, and yet a whole world.

While her creativity is spontaneous, almost organic, nothing is left to chance. Not even her clothes. Ana works with a stylist friend to create outfits that defy convention. “I don’t want people to just see a girl singing. I want them to experience a complete project. Something theatrical, aesthetic. Almost a plastic art form.”

The stage is also the setting for a feminist political statement. “I’m a woman who writes her own songs and performs alone on stage. It’s something I wanted to see as a spectator myself.”

The choice of Basque was less deliberate at first. It was natural to write in her mother tongue. “But seeing people all over Europe dancing to my language is a dream come true! Now it’s a choice I’m committed to.”

Laying claim to sweetness

Verde Prato recorded her latest album, Bizitza Eztia, in Rome with producer Donato Dozzy, a leading figure in minimalist electro. With Italy as a backdrop, she draws on her personal experiences to explore a certain idea of la dolce vita (bizitza eztia in Basque).

“But this sweetness must be for everyone. Otherwise, it’s not really la dolce vita.” Behind the delicate electronic sounds, powerful themes emerge: the need for a more inclusive world, freedom, feminism, and social pressure on women’s bodies.

The album perfectly reflects the three words Ana Arsuaga ultimately chose to describe herself: “Girl. Sweet. Radical.”

Fournier cards: masters of the game

Posted on by joseba

FOURNIER

Text: Naia Zubeldia / Photos: Mito
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The first games of Mus, a one-of-a-kind card game, took place in the heart of the province of Gipuzkoa.

This “Basque poker”, mentioned as early as the 18th century by Father Larramendi in his Corografía o descripción general de la muy noble y leal Provincia de Guipuzcoa, calls for cunning, bluffing and subtle communication between partners. With Basque expressions such as “hordago” and “eduki”, the game bears witness to its origins, which are deeply rooted in the local culture.

Heraclio Fournier (1849-1916)
The factory in Victoria Gasteiz at the end of the 19th century

Heraclio Fournier: the ace of aces
It was in 1870, in Vitoria/Gasteiz, that Heraclio Fournier, who came from a long line of French printers, opened his own lithography workshop at the age of 19. Seven years later, he commissioned the local painter Diaz de Olano and the professor of the city’s art school to design a card game called “Vitoria”. Without realising it, Fournier laid the foundations for what would become the most iconic card game on the peninsula: the “baraja española”.

Enthusiastically adopted by Mus players, this game of 40 cards with neat graphics quickly became inseparable from this popular tradition. It even won an award at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1889.

“Mus” card game Ramiro Arrue (1892-1971) – Basque Museum in Bayonne

A brand with a global reach
The success of Fournier cards did not end with the game of Mus. With constant growth, the brand diversified and conquered new markets. In 1986, Naipes Heraclio Fournier SA joined forces with The United States Playing Card Company, becoming the world leader in the playing card market.

The House of Fournier’s former logo with its production plant in Vitoria/Gasteiz.

“Despite its international expansion, Fournier remains true to its roots.”

A manufacturing operation still rooted in the Basque Country
Despite its international expansion, Fournier remains true to its roots. Its cards continue to be produced in Alava and are now used in casinos all over the world. Thanks to the Basque diaspora, they travel far beyond the Iberian Peninsula, bringing to life Mus tournaments played in Buenos Aires, Vancouver and Sydney.

Fournier cards, symbols of unique expertise, perpetuate a centuries-old tradition while adapting to the challenges of a global market. And while the game seems well underway, the final bell is still far from ringing.

Hemendik Book: The story of 50 iconic objects from the Basque Country

“Ombuaren Itzala”, or in the shadow of Otaño, the bertsolari

Posted on by eki

“Ombuaren Itzala”, or in the shadow of Otaño, the bertsolari

Text: Christine Holmes Photos: Ombuaren hitzala
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With the support of public participation, this film has returned the cultural heritage bequeathed by Otaño to the Basque people.

“Ombuaren Itzala”, made by actor and director Patxi Biskert, aims to raise awareness of the life and work of the bertsolari (improvisational singer) and poet Pello Mari Otaño Barriola (Zizurkil 1857 – Rosario, Argentina 1910).

Although Otaño occupied a place of honour in Basque culture for a long time, this once-leading figure gradually fell into oblivion. The film, produced by Eguzki Art Zinema, aims to revive the memory of Otaño and pass his works on to younger generations.

Origins and development of the project
Patxi Biskert has been working tirelessly for many years to bring the film “Ombuaren Itzala” (in the shade of the ombú tree) to life. To finance the project, he set up a large-scale collective and participatory process, involving citizens, municipalities, cultural associations and the educational network. The project, which came about thanks to institutional support and ticket pre-sales, has been shown around the Basque Country since November 2024.

Content and plot of the film
The film is set between 1889 and 1910, Otaño’s most productive years. At that time, he emigrated with his family to Argentina, where he wrote many poems and bertsos that would make him famous among the Basque diaspora. Phytolacca dioica, commonly known as the ombú, is a remarkable tree that grows in the Argentine Pampas. It inspired Otaño to write one of his most recognised poems, which made it a symbol of nostalgia linked to exile.

“The film “Ombuaren Itzala” adds to our collective memory, by highlighting the figure of Pello Mari Otaño and his contributions to Basque culture.”

Production and distribution
The film was shot in Zizurkil and Argentina, Otaño’s two main places of residence.
It was previewed at the church of San Millan in Zizurkil on 30 November 2024, in the presence of its director Patxi Biskert, lead actor Joseba Usabiaga and other actors and operators who participated in the project.

It is currently on tour in several towns in Hegoalde, the Southern Basque Country. Although no date has yet been set for a screening in Iparralde, the Northern Basque Country. Let’s hope we will have the opportunity to see it in our cinemas soon.

Moreover, the film will not stop at the cinema doors. As a fitting return, the documentary has been designed to be shown in other community and cultural venues in the Basque Country and used in schools in the region.

The film “Ombuaren Itzala” adds to our collective memory, by highlighting the figure of Pello Mari Otaño and his contributions to Basque culture and putting them in the spotlight they deserve.

This documentary is also further proof of the strength and solidarity of the Basque community in preserving its cultural heritage. Le film « Ombuaren Itzala » vient alimenter notre mémoire collective, en repéchant la figure de Pello Mari Otaño et sa contribution [CH : contributionS ???] à la culture basque pour les mettre sous la lumière qu’elles méritent.

Otaño wrote at the end of one of his bertsos, “I am motivated by the desire to help the Basque language. The subjects available to me are modest, I have very little to say, but I will happily spend my nights, days, weeks and holidays on it. My brothers, I ask you for a small place in the Basque Country”.

Ama euskerak hau esan zidan
jarririk begi alaiak.
Horregatikan nakar honera
berari lagundu nahiak.
Gutxi nezake, oso txikiak
dira nik dauzkadan gaiak,
bainan pozkiroz egingo ditut
gauak, egun, aste, jaiak;
leku pixka bat Euskal Herrian
eskatzeizuet anaiak.

(…)
Thanks to Patxi Biskert, Eguzki Art Zinema, and the operators and citizens involved, the place of Otaño is now assured in the Basque Country so dear to his heart.