National Bertsolaris Championship 2022

The 18th National Bertsolari Championship is to begin on 24th September, ending on 18th December. This is the tenth championship organised by Bertsozale Elkartea (the Association of the Friends of Bertsolaritza). 

The National Bertsolaris Championship 2022 will consist of 14 performances. It will begin in Getxo for the first time, and the final will take place in the Navarra Area in Pamplona. 

This year's edition is to feature 42 bertsolaris. There will also be a 14-member group of conductors of pieces and a jury with 21 members. 

Five years have passed since we held the last National Bertsolaris Championship. They have been highly uneven years for the cultural activities and, like the rest of the arts, in the last two years bertsolaritza has suffered from an unprecedented situation: almost completely inactive, placing bertsolaris in very difficult circumstances, turning the world of this art form upside down from one day to the next, forcing bertso schools to close and many activities to be cancelled. 

However, this awful situation has also had its positive side: we have had to support each other in our difficulties: the solidarity, the creative capacity of our movement and our own self-organisation have helped us to keep going. 

Moreover, as the everyday pace slowed down, we were able to focus on major issues, like the role of culture in society and decent working conditions for artists, questions on which we have spoken out clearly and concisely in recent months. The forced stop has enabled us to learn a lot but has also left us with outstanding matters. 

This is the context in which the National Bertsolaris Championship 2022 is being held. The participants are eager, bertsolaritza is picking up and we have noted special interest on the part of bertsolaritza enthusiasts. The organisers in turn will attempt to meet the expectations raised, in a responsible way. 

It is time to focus on the art of this improvised verse singing art: bertsolaritza.