Aste Nagusia

Aste Nagusia or "The Great Week" (, ) is the main festival of Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain, which is celebrated annually over 9 days beginning on the first Saturday following 15 August, the festivity of the Assumption of Our Lady.

History

The Great Week has been held annually since 1978, and the August celebrations already coincided with the visit of the circus to the city, the fairgrounds, the bullfights, the boxing matches and the traditional dance performances. It is organized according to a particular organizational model between the or (groups of citizens that, since 2002, are coordinated by the federation ) and the Bilbao City Council. The origin of this model was the organization of a contest of ideas by the department store El Corte Inglés – through Kiko Mochales – for the festival, which was awarded with a monetary prize of a hundred thousand pesetas, in order to introduce a new participatory model that would revitalise the backwards festival that had been established during Francoism. The competition was won by the project presented by Txomin Barullo, currently one of the pioneer festival groups of Bilbao, and consisted of a shared organization between the Council and the , festive troupes from the different districts of Bilbao which represent different contemporary socio-political sensibilities in the city.

The first event of the festival is the (), the release of a signal rocket, also known as the first bang, which has taken place since 2001 from the balcony of the Teatro Arriaga. This includes the first rocket launched by the txupinera, and the reading of the festival proclamation by the herald.

In 1980, the then Mayor Jon Castañares (from the Basque Nationalist Party) decided that the council would organize the Great Week on their own. As a result of the boycott of the festival groups, which decided in response not to install their festive tents, known as , nor to participate in any event, the council withdrew their model, and the festival week of 1981 resumed the collaborative model from 1978.

In 1983, the had to be suspended due to severe flooding caused by the overflow of the Nervion-Ibaizabal.

On July 2, 2009, the festival was chosen in a popular vote organized by The International Bureau of Cultural Capitals as one of the 10+2 Intangible Cultural Heritage Treasures of Spain, ranking first.

The festival was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fire bulls of are part of the La Semana Grande of San Sebastián.

Groups

The festival groups, known as ( in Basque), are the heart of the of Bilbao. Created with the festival model of 1978, they are troupes of people that come together to energize the festival through the "" or festive tents they install in the El Arenal fairground, with music and different activities during the nine days of the Aste Nagusia.
They are associated to different political, social, sport or neighbourhood interests.

In addition to energizing the Aste Nagusia in August, the also invigorate the Carnival festivities in February/March and the Santo Tomás Fair on 21 December. Currently there are 28 troupes, and the longest-running are , , , , , and Uribarri.

The and the herald

The or is responsible for launching the rocket that announces the beginning of the festival from the balcony of the Teatro Arriaga. Each year, she is chosen from the female members of the festival troupe that has been elected in a draw organized by the Coordination of Comparsas, which does not consider the troupes already favored in previous years. The is accompanied in the balcony by the or herald, a prominent figure from or associated with Bilbao who reads the festival proclamation.

In 1981, besides the first bang, the was entrusted with the task of launching another rocket every day of the festival at seven in the morning. In that year, given the significant increase in her work, a "reserve" was chosen, which corresponded to the group , not being repeated since as not considered necessary.

In 1983, with the intention of giving greater prominence to the position, the sculptor José Angel Lasa designed in oak wood the hanger for the rocket, knows as the , as well as the walking stick, in sign of authority, pertaining to their office. They are kept in the City Hall and are handed by the outgoing to the newly elected one every year.

In 1985, the Coordination of Comparsas covered the cost of a specific uniform for the position, designed by Alejandro Gutiérrez. It consists of a red tunic with large shoulder pads, with bright black collar, epaulets and a double row of gold buttons; worsted black skirt, tubed; red beret with the embroidery, and black patent leather shoes with white socks. The uniform of the has similarities with the Carlist uniform from the troops that besieged and bombarded during the first Siege of Bilbao, especially its characteristic red beret.

Throughout all the editions of Aste Nagusia, the and heralds were the following:

Marijaia

Since 1978, the ("Mary-festival") character is the official symbol of the festival, and since 1997, she has her own song, known as , composed by Kepa Junkera, with lyrics by Basque writer Edorta Jiménez.

Marijaia is characterised as a portable structure in the shape of a plump lady with her arms always raised in celebration. She was created on August 19, 1978, by Mari Puri Herrero, who designed and built it in just five days, after the commission of the Festival Committee.

Music

Concerts are an important part of the Great Week. The official program has included concerts by artists such as Ainhoa Cantalapiedra, Alpha Blondy, Amaral (band), Amaral, Ana Torroja, Andy & Lucas, Antonio Orozco, Asian Dub Foundation, Augustus Pablo, Baccara, Barón Rojo, Basque Dub Foundation, Benito Lertxundi, Berri Txarrak, Burning Spear, Carlinhos Brown, Carlos Núñez, Carmen París, Chambao, Chenoa, Chico y Chica, Coldplay, Coti, Dani Martín, Diego Martín, Doctor Deseo, Dover, Egan, El Arrebato, Earth Wind and Fire, El Consorcio, El Mentón de Foggarty, Fangoria, Fito & Fitipaldis, Fundación Tony Manero, Gari, Gatibu, Guano Apes, Hiru Truku, Hombres G, Iggy Pop and The Stooges, Iguana Tango, Ismael Serrano, Jeanette, Jorge Drexler, Juan Magán, Juanes, Karina, Ken Zazpi, Kepa Junkera, La Otxoa, La Mala Rodríguez">Allmusic ...