The Durango Book and Record Fair or Durangoko Azoka as it’s called here is a regular fixture on the local calendar. It’s an opportunity to meet up with old friends and a great excuse to get up to speed with the latest trends and take home a book or record signed by your favourite writer or musician. All this, and more. The annual Durangoko Azoka is not to be missed!
Durangoko Azoka was started by the Gerediaga Elkartea association in 1965 with one clear objective: to raise awareness of Basque writing and music during the Franco dictatorship and to support Basque literature and song from that period. It was also a way to bring together people involved in different aspects of Basque culture.
The first edition took place in the portico of the Iglesia de Santa María on All Saints’ Day and involved 19 exhibitors.
The venue remained the same until 1974, with the exception of 1967 when reconstruction works were being carried out on the church. After the success of the earlier editions, the regional governor prohibited the fair from being held in the church portico and it was moved to the market plaza from 1974 to 1996. The date of the fair also changed to early December. Durangoko Azoka has been held in the Landako multipurpose facility since 2003.
Durangoko Azoka has become an important event that not only exhibits and sells Basque-language books and records but is a gathering of Basque speakers and Basque culture lovers. Year after year, more and more people visit Durango to take part in the fair. It’s an opportunity for book and music fans to share space with their favourite authors and musicians, who often use the fair to promote their latest work. Nowadays, the fair covers a variety of genres and caters to all tastes.
The fair has evolved over the years to incorporate more features such as a children’s literature space. A side event to the main fair, it caters to children up to age 12 and it’s now called Saguganbara.
In 2008, the Ahotsenea space was set up in collaboration with Gerediaga Elkartea as a venue for live performances and talks to promote new music.
In 2010, Irudienea and Szenatokia were set up to showcase audiovisual projects and performing arts.
Kabi@ was created in 2012 to experiment with new digital culture models.
An online fair was run in 2020 in response to the pandemic. Since direct contact is the heart and soul of the fair, the 2023 edition will not be held online.
As well as the regular spaces at the fair, there are special initiatives too. For example, DA!PRO has fostered collaboration between creators and organisers for five years now.
Fantasy is what this year’s event is all about: a 3D image in virtual reality. Ximon Agirre has modelled images of the space in virtual reality to create an imaginary world containing all the elements of the Azoka fair.
Photos: Durangoko Azoka and Gerediaga Elkartea
