Bertso Passion Speakers

Aitor Mendiluze Gonzalez was born in Andoain in 1975 and is one of the leading figures in contemporary Basque bertsolarismo. He first encountered bertso at school and later trained at the bertsolari schools of Hernani and Andoain. He studied Engineering for a time and earned a diploma in Social Education. He won the Gipuzkoa Bertsolari Championship in 1995 and 2007 and was runner-up in the National Bertsolari Championship in 2017. His style combines precision, creativity, humour and emotion. He has also made an important contribution to passing bertsolarismo on to new generations, teaching at various educational institutions and helping young people develop their oral expression, use of the Basque language and public-speaking skills. His distinguished career in public performances and championships has made him a prominent figure in contemporary Basque culture.

Born in Hendaye, he began improvising bertso verses as a child, influenced by the cultural environment in which he grew up. He completed his entire schooling at Seaska’s Basque-language schools and later graduated in Journalism from the University of the Basque Country.

He has contributed most frequently to Argia magazine, as well as to the newspaper Berria and Euskadi Irratia. He has also taken part in a wide range of activities, including talks, public discussions and critical reflection. However, improvised bertso performance has always been his main professional activity.

He has won the Navarre Bertsolari Championship four times and the Xilaba Bertsulari Xapelketa on four occasions. In the National Bertsolari Championship, he was runner-up in 2009 and 2022, and became champion in 2013.

In 2019, together with Guinean author Ibrahima Balde, he published the book Miñan.

Zarautz (1961). He has a degree in Basque Philology. Nowadays, his is fully dedicated to creation works: not only he is well-known for being a Basque improvised verse singer (a bertsolari as they are known in the Basque language), but also for his writings and his television scripts. He has experimented with various different literary genres and has collaborated and collaborates often with the Basque press, writing opinion articles. He has been one of the most respected and recognised names in the world of Basque improvised sung poetry. He stands out as well for his work as a researcher, scholar and theoretician, and has made seminal contributions to the analysis and dissemination of the creative process involved in Basque improvised poetry. He has participated in numerous experiences seeking to bring together the world of improvised verse singing and other forms of expression such as dance, accordion (or trikiti) playing, poetry and music, etc. He won the Bertsolari Championship of the Basque Country four times, in 1993, 1997, 2001 and 2005.

A Basque extempore verse-maker, born in Hernani in 1976. She has a degree in fine arts. She has had a career spanning over 30 years performing in public. On three occasions she has been the Basque Country’s Verse-making champion, most recently in 2022. She is the current champion. In addition to her usual verse-making, she has been involved in other lines of research and artistic proposals. She has done performances based on sound, voice and the word. She has a relationship with the world of art and has frequently collaborated with sound and plastic artists. She has done highly productive work on the radio as a talk show guest. She has also contributed to the print press and other print activities

Maite Berriozabal-Berrizbeitia (Berriz, Basque Country, 1987) graduated in Advertising and Public Relations. She currently works for the Azkue Foundation coordinating initiatives designed to support the Basque language. She has worked as the theme prompter for the participants in Basque verse-making. Today, she is involved in all kinds of sessions as the theme prompter, and has also given various courses and talks linked to theme prompting.

Nerea Ibarzabal Salegi (Markina-Xemein, 1994). A journalist by training, she works as a bertsolari (Basque improvisational verse singer) and writer. She has also worked as a scriptwriter and press contributor, both independently and as part of the Txakur Gorria creative collective. In 2022, she published her first novel, Bar Gloria.

She was the Bizkaia Bertsolari Champion in 2021 and 2023 and was a finalist in the most recent edition of the Bertsolari Txapelketa Nagusia (National Bertsolari Championship).