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Vitoria-Gasteiz.  On the last leg of his first trip to South America, Asier Vallejo, accompanied by Sara Pagola, Delegate of Euskadi for Argentina-Mercocur, visited Brazil on April 25-27, at the end of last week.  During his stay in Sao Paulo, Vallejo met with the local Basque community and with representatives of Rio Grande do Sul.

The first contact with Basques in Brazil took place at a gastronomic event at the Antxieta Palace in Sao Paulo that was attended by Basques from Eusko Alkartasuna, Eusko Brasildar Etxea and Rio Grande do Sul, as well as business representatives in the area as well as SPRI.  The dinner was prepared by Chef Haritz Aramburu, based in Porto Alegre and a member of the Rio Grande do Sul club.

[Asier Vallejo and Sara Pagola along with representatives of Basque club, SPRI, and businessmen during the dinner that took place in Sao Paulo (photo Euskaletxeak.net)]

The next day, at a business breakfast, he continued meeting with Rio Grande do Sul Basque club members Haritz Aramburu and Ana Luiza Panyagua Etchalus; she is the author of the book Alma basca (Basque Soul) about Basque immigration to this region of Brazil.  Afterwards, the delegation met in the SPRI office with the regional representative, Paulo Abasolo, and in the afternoon Vallejo and Pagola visited the headquarters of Eusko Alkartasuna, founded in 1949, and met with its board of directors.

They then visited the new Euskal Etxea created in Sao Paulo, Euskal Brasildar Etxea, where they also met with the board of directors.  This meeting ended the visit to the Basque community in Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil.

With Basques in Uruguay

Before the fourth and last leg of the trip, the Director of Basque Communities Abroad visited Uruguay along with Delegate Sara Pagola. Upon arrival to the country, both were greeted by the Mayor of Montevideo, Ana Olivera, with whom they discussed the possibility of synergies between the capital of Ibero-American culture held this year in Montevideo and the future European Cultural Capital Donostia 2016.

[Asier Vallejo and Sara Pagola with Montevideo’s Mayor, Ana Olivera (photo EuskalEtxeak.net)]

In the afternoon, the Basque delegation visited the historic Basque club Euskal Erria, where they spoke to its board of directors and also to representatives from the Basque clubs in Flores and Salto, who came for the occasion.

The next day, Vallejo met with Uruguayan authorities in the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, and visited the national legislative palace, where he met with the President of the Congress, German Cardoso, and Senator Jorge Larrañaga, who will participate soon in the primary elections of their party to qualify for candidacy for the Presidency of the country.

In the afternoon, the Director for the Basque Community Abroad visited the Centro Euskaro headquarters, where he met with the board of directors and representatives of the Basque clubs of San Jose, Carmelo and Rosario. His stay in Uruguay concluded with a meeting at the Haize Hegoa clubhouse with representatives of FIVU, the Basque Uruguayan Basque Clubs Federation.