Last Friday, the first session of the Testurak initiative was held in Andretxea de Eibar, with Nerea Ibarzabal as speaker and Saioa Alkaiza, Onintza Enbeita, Izarne Zelaia and Ainhoa Agirreazaldegi as singers of bertsos. The sessions will have a specific structure: for each verse the author will read a fragment of text from a writer and, from that text, will give the subject to bertsolaris.

It was clear in the first act that the presence of the programs in the Women’s Houses and the fact that the topics come out of the writers’ texts offers us a number of opportunities for bertsolaris and the public to take advantage of.

In fact, in a bertsos session it is always interesting that sub-themes, nuances, different visions appear within a given subject. In fact, in bertsos it's the hardest thing at times, because bertsolari has to do everything in three or four bertsos: decide what aspect it's going to touch, explain it to the public as best as possible, and give two or three messages. And when it comes to issues that have not been much worked out in public, it is not easy for bertsolari to get to the nuances: there is a risk of falling into the surface layer of the subject.

The words of the writers placed us in a concrete context in Eibar. The reflections on a fact, the dialogues between characters… established a rich consensus on the future: a past, a now, an emotion, a place, a tone… And so, later, we were able to acquire the voice, the chasm, the body of the elderly women, marriage, the social pressure of being a mother, the relationships that are not remembered, the luggage of the travels, the leagues… from those verses and verses. This allowed us to eliminate the need for politically correct verses and create richer lungs. And so, sad, disgraceful, repentant, sweet, agitated, meek, chulos, contradictory characters emerged… accompanied by a great dose of humor. After all, the textures of life, although fictitious, had a lot of content and honesty.

The program also had another gift: The attendees and bertsolaris of the Eibar program leave Ixiar Rozas, Eider Rodriguez, Miren Agur Meabe, Katixa Agirre, Leire Bilbao, Karmele Jaio, Ana Urkiza, Irati Jimenez, Castillo Suarez, Irati Goikoetxea and Ana Malagon. Even if it is cross-cutting, it is not an easy achievement.

Thank you, therefore, to the Women's Houses for giving us the opportunity to reinvent ourselves, each and every one of us. Wanting to qualify…