Although it is nine kilometers from Logroño and 81 from Pamplona, on the border between La Rioja and Navarre, Viana remains on the latter side. Later, more borders have been drawn, fragmenting Navarre, and the aforementioned town was included in the sack of the so-called non-Basque zone, along with many others. It is in this reality that the Erlisten-School has lived since its foundation in 1978.

Next to the school there is a hill called Kueto. Whoever goes up to it will be able to see, at a couple of glance, three territories divided into three administrations. First, you will see Navarre looking towards Viana, with the remains of the elegant 13th century church. Then, if he turns to the school, sharpening his eyes, he realizes that Logroño can be seen in the back.
Finally, if you look at the fields to the right of the school, you will have to know that the horizon rests in Álava.

Due to this geographical location, students also come to the local school from nearby towns such as Bargota (Navarre), Aras (Navarre) or even from Logroño (La Rioja). However, despite the fact that the majority of young Bianians attend the local public school, Bianians are the majority in the Erlisten-type school. The number of children enrolled is constantly increasing and this year they have 133 students, 16 more than last year. Aritz Lizarraga, the young director of the Ikastola, says that it is increasingly accepted in the town, but he mentions that they still have a long way to go.

The increase in the number of students can be considered as a sign of the acceptance of the school in the locality, a path that many consider important was the Navarre Walk held in Viana in 1992. In an environment where Basque language and culture were completely foreign, bringing together thousands of people was a great thing for local Basque speakers. The director Lizarraga says: “From being in the building that used to be a well, the school made the move to a decent building with the money that it took; that was historic.”

Lizarraga is angry that, as a school that has been in operation for almost 30 years, it has never received a minimum of recognition from the Navarrese authorities. “This started in March 1978 and I have no doubt that they were very hard years. The City Council is not in favour at the moment, but in those times the City Council itself was in total opposition, an example of which is that in 14 years the school has been located in six places.”

The New “Legal” Era

It has been a year since the Government of Navarre legalized the schools of Lodosa, Tudela, Irunberri and Viana. Until then, they had been in a legal situation and did not belong to the network of schools in Navarre, with all the consequences that this entails. “In addition to having significant economic impacts, we have managed to remove the illegal label.” These schools in the non-Basque area have been able to breathe a little.

Achieving legality was the main goal so far, while now they have a focus on the quality plan. In addition to the covered fronton, the building will be built for ages from zero to six. “We were in an extreme situation, which was the dining room in the mornings, in the afternoons it was the library, and we have removed the room so that we have another room.” Time has made it clear that parents who send their children to school are “becoming more and more pluralistic” and that this is helping

to gradually change their image in the village. “We know where we are and if we get out of the Basque language, the eternal ones go to our throats; we have to be very careful.” We have the key to celebrate this year’s Navarre Walk party at the helm; to dispel old ghosts and open the door to the difficult area dotted by three territories for those

who want to live in Basque and Basque.