The history of Aste Nagusia

Before 1978: August festivities without today's model

The municipal archive holds programmes of August festivities dating back to at least 1899. Bullfights, theatre, fairground stalls, boxing and some folk performances made up an offering with many paid shows and limited public participation. That is why saying Aste Nagusia was "born" in 1978 needs a caveat: that year did not invent the custom of celebrating August, but a new way of making the festival.

Other ideas were already being tested in the preceding years. In 1973 a Basque Rural Sports Week with free exhibitions was very well received. The history published by Bilboko Konpartsak explains that this response encouraged Quico Mochales to propose a competition for festival projects. The idea did not prosper in 1974.

In 1977 journalist and broadcaster Zorion Eguileor used the radio to call a kalejira, a street parade, demanding festivities that took place in the street with public participation. The konpartsak source estimates it drew around 5,000 people. In the context of Spain's political transition, the competition proposal returned to the municipal authority.

The competition that transformed the festival

Under the motto "Let's make Bilbao's festivities popular", the competition opened on 1 April 1978 and closed on 31 May. It was called by the city council, sponsored by El Corte Inglés, with a prize of 100,000 pesetas. Thirty-seven projects were submitted.

The jury decided on 9 June. It awarded 75% of the prize to "Txomin Barullo", submitted by the Culture and Art Committee of the EMK organisation in Bizkaia, and 25% to "Tximbo Zarra", by Luis Cardas. Breaking the tie required the chair's casting vote. The winning proposal placed citizens' groups at the centre and created a large festival site at the Arenal; the runner-up saw the estuary as the main axis.

The result was advisory only. Reaching the street was not automatic: its promoters and the neighbourhood movement pushed to turn it into a real programme. On 28 June, cultural and sports associations, political parties, trade unions and other groups were convened at the Bidebarrieta Library. The first committee was formed on 2 July.

Seven weeks to build a festival

Bilboko Konpartsak documents a committee of 17 members, with no city councillors, and Karmelo Landa as spokesperson. It worked in municipal offices near the Salón Árabe and handled a budget of 8,438,000 pesetas. Barely seven weeks remained before 19 August.

The plan concentrated the site in the Arenal and the Old Town, prioritised free events and opened the organisation to neighbourhoods, groups of friends, associations and social sectors. To form a konpartsa you needed a brass band, at least 50 members, shared clothing and a txosna open to the street. A txosna was not just a bar: it worked as a meeting point with music, food and activities.

The first 24 konpartsak

At first it was estimated that eight would take part. In the end there were 24, with over 1,600 people: Abusu, Araba Etxea, Ardoa Barrura, Arrainak, Atxuritarrak, Bizizaleak, Ganorabako, Kezkalariak, La Cubiertina Precoz, Mahats-Herri, Hontzak, Pinpilinpauxa, Pirikiturris, Rekalde, Samasiku, San Francisco, Satorrak, Tomate Egileak, Tintigorri, Tximboak, Txintxarri, Txomin Barullo, Uribarri Gure Sule and Yeiki.

That Coordinating Body of Comparsas is the forerunner of today's Bilboko Konpartsen Federazioa. The word konpartsa refers to the people's group; txosna, to its festival space. They are not synonyms.

Marijaia: a symbol created against the clock

The committee wanted to bring back the Giants and Gargantua. As Bilbao's figures had disappeared or fallen into disrepair, Gasteiz lent three pairs of giants and its 1922 Gargantua for that first edition.

A figure of its own was also needed to give the new festival an identity. Mari Puri Herrero received the commission shortly before the start, and the council dates the design of Marijaia to 19 August 1978. The artist created a large woman with a colourful dress inspired by rural clothing, a headscarf and a smiling face. Her arms are always raised because she is always dancing.

A new figure is built for every edition. Since 1997 she has had an official song: "Badator Marijaia", with lyrics by Edorta Jimenez and music by Kepa Junkera. The procession along the estuary and the burning of Marijaia traditionally close the nine days, though the time and route must be confirmed each year.

19 August 1978

The first txupinera was María Jesús Aguirregoitia, from Uribarri. She fired the txupin rocket in Begoña on the afternoon of 19 August. The surviving official programme is a bilingual 32-page council edition, with a poster by J. C. Eguillor and a greeting from acting mayor Manuel Ibinarriaga. The Basque Museum holds material from that edition.

According to the konpartsak account, the first Aste Nagusia ended with a surplus of 360,000 pesetas. The committee proposed spending it on restoring the Giants and Gargantua. Gargantua reappeared rebuilt in 1979, and twelve new Giants were presented at the 1980 Carnival.

The 1980 crisis and the mixed model of 1981

The story did not unfold without conflict. Bilboko Konpartsak describes 1980 as a dispute over control of the festival: a municipal committee and a people's committee coexisted, and that summer "Bilboko Jaiak" was held without the symbols or the participation that the comparsas identified with Aste Nagusia. This is the account of one of the parties involved and should be read with that attribution.

In 1981 a Joint Parity Committee was set up, with representation from the council and the Coordinating Body of Comparsas. That agreement is the origin of the institutional-popular model that still defines the organisation today. That year also saw the birth of the municipal fireworks contest; the displays became a nightly event, and in 1982 a competition with a prize was established.

1983: from festival to emergency

On 26 August 1983, devastating floods interrupted Aste Nagusia. The city council has described them as the worst Bilbao had suffered in 500 years. The festival site and the entire city turned into a scene of emergency and solidarity. That episode holds a place of its own in collective memory: it was not simply a year without a closing ceremony, but a disaster that changed Bilbao.

Timeline of a changing festival

The 2009 recognition came from an initiative called "10 Treasures of Spain's Intangible Cultural Heritage". It was not a UNESCO declaration and should not be presented as one.

How it is organised today

The council describes the model as joint work with Bilboko Konpartsak within the Joint Committee. Organisations linked to accessibility, retail and political representation have also taken part in it. Bilboko Konpartsak contributes to the programme, runs the Arenal site and organises federation-wide events; each konpartsa adds its own agenda.

The Joint Committee chooses the pregonera. The konpartsa drawn by lot appoints the txupinera, who fires the opening rocket. The council source notes that historically every txupinera has been a woman.

From one site to a whole city

The Arenal and the Old Town still play an essential role, but Aste Nagusia now stretches across Abandoibarra, Parque Europa, Doña Casilda, Bilborock, the Church of La Encarnación, Plaza Circular and many other spaces. Basque culture, grassroots participation, major concerts, circus, theatre, children's activities and sport all coexist.

The accessibility visible in the contemporary programme — quiet periods without sound effects, sign language interpretation, easy-read materials, ramps and reserved areas — is a recent development. It should not be projected back onto 1978.

A short glossary

Aste Nagusia

The Basque name for Bilbao's Great Week, also rendered as Bilbao's Big Week.

Konpartsa

A people's group that takes part in the festival.

Txosna

The festival space run by a konpartsa.

Txupinera

The person who fires the opening rocket.

Pregonera

The person who delivers the opening speech.

Herri kirolak

Basque rural sports.

Bertsolaritza

Sung oral improvisation in Basque.