Basque and ye shall receive

>> Fermin Muguruza keeps his people's language alive

by RUPERT BOTTENBERG

Quebec isn't the only place in the world with a separatist thing going on. These days even Hawaii and Vermont (Vermont?!) are getting in on the act. A particularly strong movement is happening in the Basque region of Spain, and with good reason, if you read your history books. Fermin Muguruza is a musician who could tell you all about it.

But Muguruza's vibe isn't about burning bridges, it's about building them, particularly between cultures that are just short of annihilation in the face of global Americanization. Which is why, although his lyrics are primarily in the Basque language Euskara, his band Dub Manifest's tunes draw on reggae, dub, rock, rap and anything else he can get his hands on--and chock-full of fiery but informed rhetoric. The Mirror sat down with Muguruza for a trilingual (that is, English, French and Spanish) chat on the topic.



Mirror: Seems to me you're becoming the cultural ambassador for the Basques, at least for young people. Do you agree with that?

Fermin Muguruza: Yes, I get that feeling, but that isn't necessarily my goal. It's to create exchanges (waves around recently purchased Gilles Vigneault disc). I'm interested in a lot of cultures, so I don't want to be an ambassador for just one.

M: In your lyrics, you've talked about a dictionary connecting Basque to the languages of other cultures that have been repressed by the Spanish. That is, leaving Spanish out of the equation--

FM: When I talk about defending my own language, it's never against another language. When I fight for my Basque roots, it's not against the Spanish or English languages. Actually, those languages represent a bridge between cultures. For instance, when we toured Germany, I had to learn to communicate in English. But one should never lose touch with one's own language.

M: I've asked various Basques living here in Montreal if they speak Euskara, and none do. Do many Basques in Spain not speak their own language?

FM: Yes. Only 35 per cent of us speak it, the rest speak either Spanish or French. This is because of Franco's 40-year regime, during which we were forbidden to speak Euskara. Even those who did couldn't pass it on to their kids, or didn't want to for fear of repression. The whole young generation, those born in the last 35 years, speak little or no Euskara. They have to learn it later in life, and that's extremely difficult, because it's a language that has no Latin or Germanic roots. It's the oldest language in Europe.

M: What do you make of the situation here in Quebec?

FM: I've only been here five days, but my impression is that Montreal is a very peaceful, cosmopolitan city, especially because you don't see ghettos like in London or New York City. There's a wide variety of ethnic groups, and you all speak a mixture of English, French and other languages--often in the same sentence. Nobody seems to mind. At the same time, considering the political research I've done--I was very curious, so I bought a book on the last 100 years of Quebec's history--and I do feel that Quebec should separate. It's a country with its own very different culture.

At Bleury and De Maisonneuve W. tonight, Thursday, Aug. 2, 10pm, free, and with Loco Locass at the Spectrum on Friday, August 3, 11pm, $7.50