The centenary of the birth of the famous Basque sculptor Eduardo Chillida, on January 10th, 1924 in San Sebastian, is the historical event with which I want to begin my monthly posts dedicated to Basque culture in January 2024. As the cover I have designed an image alluding to this date. It is the first image that I publish on my website that I have designed with Artificial Intelligence.

January also brings us every year to FITUR, the International Tourism Fair in Madrid. Be sure to visit the Basquetour Pavilion (Basque Tourism Agency) and other tourism agencies, companies and professionals in the Basque Country. It will be from January 24th to 28th.

Happy New Year 2024!

 

Basque culture activities in San Sebastian and Gipuzkoa in January 2024

  • “Balenciaga. Character”. Second exhibition of the curatorial series focused on what makes “a Balenciaga” recognizable. Cristobal Balenciaga Museum. March 17th, 2023 to January 14th, 2024.
  • “Hic sunt dracones” (There are dragons here). Expression that alerted sailors to the danger of the unknown. Exhibition by Guipuzcoan artist Mikel Otxoteko. Laboratory Room of the San Telmo Museum. From September 20th, 2023 to January 7th, 2024.
  • John M. Blundall Master Puppeteer. British puppeteer, craftsman, visual artist, set designer, teacher and collector. He founded the Cannon Hill Puppet Theater company. TOPIC – Tolosa International Puppet Center. From September 22nd, 2023 to February 18th, 2024.
  • Christmas in San Sebastian: Santo Tomás Fair, Christmas Children’s Park, Crafts Fair and the Great Ferris Wheel, Christmas Market and the San Silvestre race. From November 30th, 2023 to January 8th, 2024.
  • Isabel Azkarate. Retrospective exhibition that recognizes the legacy of what she is considered the first female photojournalist in the Basque Country. Kutxa Kultur Artegunea, Tabakalera. From December 2nd, 2023 to February 25th, 2024.
  • ‘Cerodenero‘, new album by the Basque singer Izaro. The most important Basque artist of recent times. Contrasts pop, folk, electronic and roots music, with poetry and metaphors. New tour. Kursaal, San Sebastian. January 3rd and 4th, 2024.
  • ABBA Tribute. «Thank you for th music», Abba. Dancing Queen, Mamma Mia, Money, Money, Money, Take a Chance On Me, The Winner Takes It All… Kursaal Auditorium. January 19th.
  • Tribute to the Italian artist Pino Daniele. Blues singer-songwriter, composer and guitarist. Musicians: Fabrizio Bosso and Julian Oliver Mazzariello. Victoria Eugenia Theater. January 23rd.
  • New Year Pop Classics: 50 years of the best Pop. A selection of the great Pop classics of all time: Queen, The Beatles, Leonard Cohen, Michael Jackson, etc. Concert by DÉLICA, a musical group composed entirely of women. Kursaal Auditorium. January 26th.
  • “A lifetime“. Selection of the 50 best hits from “El Consorcio”. She performs the songs of the most famous Basque musical group of all time: Mocedades. It is the only Hispanic group that has sold more than a million copies of a single sung entirely in Spanish. Kursaal. January 28th.

 

Enjoy Basque culture in Bilbao and Biscay

  • Picasso sculptor. Matter and body. Sculpture as an expression of art, comparable to painting, drawing, engraving or ceramics. Bilbao Guggenheim Museum. From September 29th, 2023 to January 14th, 2024.
  • Pablo Picasso: Mousquetaire à la pipe (1968). The only painting by the painter in public collections in the Basque Country. It is accompanied by Bust of a Knight III (1967) from the Banco Santander collection. Room 20. Bilbao Fine Arts Museum. From October 18th, 2023 to March 10th, 2024.
  • Gego. Measuring infinity. Retrospective of the German-Venezuelan artist Gertrud Goldschmidt, known as Gego and for her unique approach to the language of abstraction. Bilbao Guggenheim Museum. From November 7th, 2023 to February 4th, 2024.
  • Nature On: Itsasaldi. Immersive light show specific to Bilbao: tribute to the power of the sea, and its flora and fauna. More than 300 light sculptures related to the sea. Artxanda Viewpoint in Bilbao. From December 5th, 2023 to January 21st, 2024.
  • Models in movements. Private exhibition of models, especially for children. Roqueland Museum in Bilbao. Special hours at Christmas. Every Saturday and Sunday in December and January. And on December 27th, 28th and 29th, 2023; and January 2nd, 3rd and 4th, 2024.
  • ‘Cerodenero‘. Start of the new tour, with a new album, by the Basque singer Izaro. Contrasts pop, folk, electronic and roots music, with poetry and metaphors. Euskalduna Palace, Bilbao. January 2nd, 2024.
  • The cat with boots. For kids and adults. Musical adaptation of the opera by Xavier Montsalvatge for piano, five singers and a dancer based on the traditional story of the same name by the French writer Charles Perrault. Arriaga Theater. From January 3rd to 5th, 2024.
  • John Williams and Hans Zimmer. A Symphonic celebration. The best film music in concert: Gladiator, Inception, Sherlock Holmes, Pirates of the Caribbean… Euskalduna Palace – Auditorium. January 5th, 2024.
  • Joaquín Achúcarro. Basque pianist, teacher and musician of international renown with 70 years of artistic career and 91 years of life. Brahms, Liszt, Ravel, Debussy, Rachmaninoff and Scriabin. Arriaga Theater. January 7th.
  • Rinaldo Alessandrini and Concerto Italiano. Project dedicated to Claudio Monteverdi by one of the great Italian early music ensembles. Arriaga Theater. January 25th.

 

Basque culture activities in Vitoria-Gasteiz and Alava in January 2024

  • Traditional nativity scenes in Vitoria-Gasteiz. Monumental Nativity Scene in Florida Park, with more than 200 life-size figures. Nativity scenes from the Sacred Heart School, the one from the Casa del Cordón, the Nativity scenes from the Villa-Suso Palace or those from the Álava Nativity Scene Association. From December 3rd to January 6th.
  • Christmas Children’s Park. Inflatables, the climbing wall, water games and other games. There will be performances every day in the Francisco de Vitoria Auditorium. Europe Congress Palace. From December 26th to January 5th, 2024.
  • Overture La gazza ladra by Rossini and Symphony No. 4 by Brahms. Young Orchestra of the Basque Country. Guest director: Unai Urrecho. Principal Theater. January 3rd, 2024.
  • Marín: magic, laughter and me. Show by the magician and comedian Jose Marín Tello. Ironic and groundbreaking with fast humor, spectacular magic and an exquisite soundtrack. Principal Theater. January 4th, 2024.
  • 2023 European Wildlife Photographer. Photographs nominated or awarded in the largest and most prestigious nature contest for amateurs or professionals in Europe. Center for Environmental Studies of Vitoria-Gasteiz. Until January 7th.
  • Urrundik Trio. Olatz Saitua, soprano. Ainhoa Zubillaga, mezzo-soprano. Eugenio Tobalina, guitar. Works by Iparraguirre, Aita Donostia, Sorozabal and Garbizu. Vital Fundazioa Kulturunea. January 9th.
  • Eclectic piano duo. Francisco Fierro, piano. José Ramón García, piano. Works by Fierro, Babajanyan/García, Tchaikovsky, Copland and Rachmaninov. Vital Fundazioa Kulturunea. January 16th.
  • Tomatito Quintet in concert: flamenco. Tomatito, guitar. José del Tomate, 2nd guitar. Morenito de Illora, singer. Kiki Cortiñas, singer. Israel Suarez “Piranha”, percussion. Main Theater. January 26th.
  • Soyoung Yoon and Marcin Sikorski. Soyoung Yoon, violin. Marcin Sikorski, piano. Works by Dvorak, Brahms, Prokofiev and Bartok. Vital Fundazioa Kulturunea. January 30th.
  • ‘SOLO (Music)’: Concert by the Municipal Music Band of Vitoria-Gasteiz. For the first time they perform: ‘Six Manuel Islands and Mountains’ by Shelley Hanson, ‘Legacy’ by Oscar Navarro with the oboe soloist José Antonio Masmano, and ‘Symphony No. 4’ by David Maslanka. Principal Theater. January 31st.

At Aitor Delgado Tours we also inform you during your tours designed with me about the most relevant events of Basque culture that you can enjoy during January 2024 or another month of the year.

If you want to design a personalized and private tour with Aitor Delgado, or some of his collaborators, contact me.

December 21, 2023