On 28 January the Bertsolaris Championship of Álava was launched, and this Saturday the final will be 16 January at the Main Theatre of Vitoria, held at the European Palace last year, at 17:30 hours.

Bertsolaris Aroa Arrizubieta Barredo, Asier Otamendi Alkorta, Iñaki Viñaspre Simon, Manex Agirre Arriolabengoa, Paula Amilburu Izargarai and Peru Abarrategi Sarrionandia will participate. All the finalists have been on the final table before and four of them have put the hat on. Otamendi is the one who has dressed the most – he has four – among the finalists on Saturdays.

Xabier Rico Iturriotz will wear the txapela to this year's champion. In this way, his career will be recognized: in 1984 he participated in the first Álava Championship.

Forty years have passed since the first Bertsolaris Championship in Álava. Competition organized to celebrate 50 years of Gasteiz Irratia. A year and a half before, under the direction of Abel Enbeitia, the bertsos school of Vitoria was created. Patxi Aizpurua Garaialde has pointed out that since then the number of participants has doubled, and the Basque country has progressed “albeit little by little” in Álava: “And thus the bertsolaris”.