The Bertsolari Andoni Egaña, Champion for the 4th time

In the pavilion of the Bizkaia Arena of BEC there were many touching moments amongst the eight bertsolaris and the 13,000 people that had come to watch and listen. The room was packed with aficionados, mostly young people, since most of the bertsolaris that participated in the final were also young: Andoni Egaña, Igor Elortza, Unai Iturriaga, Aitor Mendiluze, Amets Arzallus, Sustrai Colina, Jon Maia, and Maialen Lujanbio; this last participant is the only woman that has been able to reach the final in 1997, 2001, and 2005. The bertsolaris improvised their verses in conjunction with the topics that they were given by the two theme-presentors of the sessions. They had to improvise in pairs and individually, and in addition, in different melodies, measures, and themes (see the eliminatory heats).

45 media sources were present, as was EuskoSare, during the final from BEC. ETB and various radio stations broadcasted live. By 10 a.m. the seats were almost full. An hour later the long awaited final was about to start; a great round of applause welcomed the eight bertsolaries when they took the stage. The bertsolaris, who were a bit nervous at first, were able to calm down as the day went on.

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The objective of the bertsolaris that took part in the final was to improvise on verses and outwit Andoni Egaña, and therefore win the txapela that he has worn three times. The txapela was displayed on stage during the entire day. In additon to Egaña, the crowd had other favorites:

• Maialen Lujanbio of Hernani, 29 years old, the only woman of the championship; in 2001, she almost tcame close to taking the txapela from Egaña.

• Unai Iturriaga of Durango,31 years old; has been the champion of Bizkaia three times.

• Amets Arzallus of Hendaia, 21 years old; the bertsolari that has gained the most consecutive points in the quarter finals and semifinals of the championship, and has been the public’s favorite bertsolari.

For the 4th time, Andoni Egaña

After having lunch at the BEC, at 4:30 in the afternoon, the afternoon session began. At 7 in the evening, the judges gave their descision based on the two bertsolaris that improvised verses one-on-one, in other words, the two bertsolaris that were tied: Andoni Egaña and Unai Iturriaga. They improvised various verses, some of those regarding Euskara professors. The young audience was in favor of Unai Iturriaga (see final scores).

Around 8 p.m., the judges announced their decision, naming the champion of 2005 as Andoni Egaña. 13, 000 people got up and gave a standing ovation to Egaña, which really moved him. The bertsolari Imanol Lazkano –president of Bertsozale Elkartea for many years- placed the txapela on Andoni, and he dedicated the txapela to his mother and all the mothers of the other bertsolaris.

What was the experience like for the bertsolaris?

As soon as the championship finished, the bertsolaris offered a press conference with the president of Bertsozale Elkartea, Iñaki Murua. All of the bertsolaris acknowledged that they had enjoyed the session. According to Unai Iturriaga, “the ambiance amongst the fans has had a tremendous effect on all of us. The bertsolaris that are here are friends, and I think this has been demonstrated in the championship.”

Andoni Egaña, on his part, recognized that "the fourth txapela really has been an honor for me, but if any one of them had sang, improvised better than me, it would have really made me much more happy.” Egaña doesn’t rule out the possibility of presenting himself in the next championship.

Bertsolari Championship of Euskal Herria 2005
Photo Gallery of the Final