BFS: TWO SHORTS (MUSIKAZ — RAVEL + AITA DONOSTIA)
August 29 @ 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm PDT
Pianist Josu Okiñena performs Oñazez by Aita Donostia — one of the composers featured in MUSIKAZ.
Join the BEO for two short documentary films from EITB — the Basque public broadcasting network — as part of our partner, the San Francisco Basque Cultural Center’s Udako Besta. Together, these films tell the story of two Basque composers who used music as a vehicle to teach, preserve, and pass down the history of a people. No background required. Just come curious.
Basque Cultural Center
599 Railroad Avenue
South San Francisco, CA
ABOUT THE FILMS
MUSIKAZ: Ravel
Maurice Ravel is one of the most celebrated composers in classical music history. What many people don’t know is that he was Basque — his mother was from the Basque Country, and that heritage shaped the rhythm, color, and feeling of his music in ways that are unmistakable once you know to listen for them. This documentary explores that connection and what it means for how we understand both the composer and the culture he carried with him.
EITB production · in Spanish and Euskara with English subtitles
MUSIKAZ: Aita Donostia
While Ravel carried Basque identity into concert halls around the world, Aita Donostia was doing something quieter and equally vital — traveling through the Basque Country and gathering traditional folk songs before they could be lost to time. His work stands as one of the most important acts of cultural preservation in Basque history. This documentary tells that story and the man behind it.
EITB production · in Spanish and Euskara with English subtitles
AND THEN — SEPTEMBER 26
These two films are a prelude. On Saturday, September 26th, the BEO presents The History of Basque Music: A Living Portrait of an Ancient Land — a one-night-only documentary-style concert at the Presidio Theater in San Francisco. Pianist Josu Okiñena, txistulari Garikoitz Mendizabal, and soprano Noelia Ibáñez bring the story of Basque music to life through live performance, narration, and visuals. Think of August 29th as the introduction. September 26th is the full picture.
More information here.