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The President of the Navarran Parliament, Ainhoa Aznarez visited the headquarters of the Laurak Bat Club in Valencia during her trip to the capital for a meeting of Presidents of Parliament of autonomous communities. Founded 69 years ago, the club has nearly 50 families with Alberto Artieda Jaca serving as its current president and it's an institution recognized by both the Basque and Navarran governments.

Valencia, Spain.   According to a note from the Parliament in Navarre, some twenty members of the club welcomed Aznarez. She encouraged “to continue working to maintain the links with the culture and our land.”  The current club president, Alberto Artieda Jaca, from Etxarri Aranaz, thanked her for the visit and the work that she is carrying out in the parliament to open it up and to change the model, “from another perspective, to construct another Navarre”, as Parlament sources described.

In this way, the President of the Parliament communicated the importance of understanding between different people, “which has led to a change of time thanks to an agreement that is the fruit of dialogue,” she said.

Among those attending the event was one of the club founders, Mari Paz Irigoyen Irungaray, from Baztan, who explained how the club was formed as a peña in 1948 and became an association in 1950.

“Over the years, we have had various presidents both from the Basque Autonomous Community, as well as from Navarre,” she said.

Club secretary, Mike Etxeberria Navarro, from Donostia, explained that they are happy with the interest which the Basque-Navarran culture is getting in the Valencian community.  “This year we have 14 new members.  We teach Basque, hold Mus tournaments, and this year in April we will celebrate Korrika with dantzaris, aizkolaris.”

Etxeberria said that the club carries out an extraordinary role as a meeting and gathering point, “that makes us feel more at home,” he said.