Gabriel Aresti: «Let’s break the chain»

Gabriel Aresti (1933-1975) was an important poet in Basque language. In his poems there’s a preocupation about Basque language and culture, but also for the Human race and freedom. Although the inconvenience of writting in Basque during dictatorship, Aresti got a considerable succes between Euskalduns and Erdalduns (both are Basques words: «Euskaldun» means everytihng that is Basque, including Basque-talkers and Basque people; «Erdaldun» means everything that is not a Basque thing, even languages differents to Basque). A lot of poets, as Xabier Lete, get inspiration from him, and songwiters and folk-groups, as Mikel Laboa and Oskorri, make songs with his poems. Here you have a very complete article in English about Aresti’s life and work: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel_Aresti 

«apur dezagun katea»

apur dezagun katea
kanta dezagun batea
hau da Fandangoa
Biba Berango!

Munduan beste asko lez
artaburua mozkorrez
atzo aspertu nintzaden
maisuez eta eskolez.

Poeta naizenez gero
ez dut zerurik espero
bederatzi kopla ditut
lau zuhur eta bost ero.

Ilargiaren adarra
handik zintzilik abarrak
gogoan larriak dira
zure bi begi nabarrak.

Zerutik dator harria
nundikan berriz argian
gau ilun honetan dakust
zure aurpegi garbia.

Artzoko oilar gorria
inundik ez etorria
goseak arintzearren
judu batek igorria.

Goizaldean eguzkiak
printzak daduzka bustiak
oso merke saltzen dira
euskaldunaren ustiak.

Gure amonak esan dit
aitak ardoa edan dik
Joan zaitez tabernara
eta ekar zazu handik.

Euskararen asturua
ez da gauza segurua
askozez hobekiago
dabil munduan judua.
Eta hau hola ez bazan
sar dedila kalabazan
ipuin txit barregarriak
kontatu nituen plazan.

let’s break the chain/ Let’s sing all together at one/ This is fandango (1)/ Hail to Berango!// As many others in the world/ idiot and drunk/ yesterday I get tired / of teachers and studious men.// As I am a poet/ I don’t wait for Heaven/ I’ve got nine verses/ four wise and five crazy.// In the branch of the Moon/ the firewood are hunging/ many times they are coming to my memory/ your two multicoloured eyes.// Stones are coming from the sky/ but from where comes the light?/ I see in this dark night/ your clear face.// Your lap’s red rooster/ that came from nowhere/ send by a Jew/ for alleviate hunger.// In the morning the sun/ has wet rays;/ Basque’s everything/ it sells very cheap.// Our grandmother has told me:/ Your father had drunk the wine/ go to the tabern/ and carry him from there.// Basque language’s fate/ is not a sure thing/ Jew/ is in the world much better.// And if this is not so in this way/ may gets into a pumkin,/  in the square where I told/ tales so very funny.

Gabriel Aresti

(1) «Fandango» is a Spanish kind of traditional music which is performed in almost every place of Spain in very differents ways, from flamenco, stepping by the fandango of Extremadura, to the Basque fandango. Aresti means here Basque fandango, or pandango, depending the dialect; the Basque fandango is performed with txistu, a kind of antique flute with only three holes, and a tamboril, a little drum, that both are played by only one musician. 

for read the Spanish translation, click http://albokari.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!61E9B08CEBCBE7EE!335.entry

Mikel Laboa, in many ways, is the faher of the Basque songwriters movement, although the French-Basque duo Mixel and Eneko Labeguerie was the first in making songs in Basque. Mikel Laboa was the founder of the collective Ez dok Amairu (There’s no Thirteen). Laboa, influenced by Basque traditional music, French songwriters and Latin-American songwriters, specially Atahualpa Yupanqui and Violeta Parra, alternates in his music words by his own with the words from  others songwriters as J. A. Artze, Xabier Lete and Antton Valverde, and of poets as Bertold Brecht and Basque poet Gabriel Aresti, as this poem that he entitled as «Apur dezagun katea»:

http://www.goear.com/files/localplayer.swf
Ez dok Amairu (There’s no Thirteen) was a collective created around Basque esculptor Jorge de Oteiza. Founded by Mikel Laboa, some of their members were Benito Lertxundi, Lourdes Iriondo, Xabier Lete, Antton Valverde and J. A. Artze. Influenced by the Catalan collective Els Setze Jutges (Sixteen Judges), Ez dok Amairu’s finallity was the vindication of Basque language, music, culture and literature, specially poetry. They were, with Castilians, Andalucians and Canarians songwriters and folk-groups, the first in doing songs based on the Basque traditional music, thanks to the wonderful and elder songs-books legated through the centuries.

Euskal Kanta Berria (New Basque
Song) was a movement of Basque songwriters with the pretension of
vindicate and save Basque language, music and culture, and a
vindication of their land, the so named Euskal Herria (Basque Land/
Basque People). Between this movement, there were collectives as and Argia (light) and Ez dok Amairu (There’s no Thirteen). Between them we can name people as important as Mikel Laboa, Lourdes Iriondo, Benito Lertxundi, Imanol, Lupe, Oskorri… In
differance of others regionals songwriters movements, Euskal Kanta
Berria used to play the Basque traditional music since the beginnig
with their poems or those from great Basque poets as Gabriel Aresti. Within this movement, songwriters Antton Valverde, J. A. Artze and Xabier Lete make the most of these songs.