Bertsolaritza is the art of singing extemporaneously composed songs in improvised stanzas (Bertsoak) in Basque by improvisers known as Bertsolaris. Shooting from the Lip, by Jose Mallea-Olaetxa, is the first bilingual Bersto book printed in America that is dedicated to Basque-American verse singing. Olaetxa beautifully weaves together the history of Berstogintza (the craft), the various bertsolaris, and their impact on the Basque-American identity.
A fun fact: In June 2003, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) acknowledged four Basque Bertsolaris in the United States for NEA’s National Heritage Fellowships.
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