Bertsolaritza, in the Basque country, is the art of improvising songs on a set topic. Following decades of suppression and neglection, the tradition was revived by a younger generation in the 1990s. Asier Altuna’s 2011 documentary Bertsolari accompanies some of the modern heroes of the genre through their rehearsals and performances, including the Bertsolari Txapelketa Nagusia (Great Basque Bertsolari Championship).
In this era of crisis,
living is like jumping off a bridge.Many of my friends are stuck, unemployed.
It’s hard to breathe, I get so annoyed.Things aren’t easy, no one’s overjoyed.
Liberalism’s optimism has been over-deployed.
And now hope and want are all but destroyed.We all want to live well, but that’s all devoid.
I wish my friends had more future than just a void.
My contribution: Creating German subtitles for the film (dialogs and poems).