Juan Ignazio Iztueta (1767-1845). “Bizarra urdina, baina txit arina”

The late 18th and early 19th centuries were turbulent times in Europe and the Basque Country: changes in the economic system, starvation, revolts, wars and violent cultural upheavals… The creator of this work, Juan Ignacio Iztueta, lived during this turbulent period. He was from Zaldibia, in the province of Gipuzkoa. He authored a diverse oeuvre in Basque, of which a principal example: Gipuzkoako dantza gogoangarrien Kondaira edo Historia (A history of memorable dances of Gipuzkoa) is of immeasurable value, due to the information it renders on the ancient dances of Gipuzkoa and in kind, a glimpse into everyday life of society during this period which unfortunately has often been misinterpreted. This rendering has set out to reestablish the key issues in order to obtain a better understanding of the aforementioned issues. It also now offers us an opportunity to understand the tradition and evolution of these historic Gipuzkoan dances.XVIII. mendearen hondarrak eta XIX.aren hasiera, garai korapilatsuak izan ziren Europan eta Euskal Herrian: eredu ekonomikoaren aldaketa, goseteak, matxinadak, gerrak, kultur ereduetan aldaketa bortitzak… Garaitsu horietan bizi izan zen lan honen protagonista, Juan Ignazio Iztueta zaldibitarra. Euskaraz idatzi zuen hainbat lan. Gipuzkoako dantza gogoangarrien Kondaira edo Historia, lan nagusiak testigantza balio neurtezina du, euskal dantzen aldetik eta orduko gizartearen egunerokoaren inguruan, baina maíz gaizki interpretatua izan da. Artikulu honetan ahalegina egiten da ulermen horrek behar dituen kako nagusiak argitzeko. Eta horrekin batera egungo Gipuzkoako dantza zaharren bilakaera eta tradizioa hobeto ezagutzeko aukera ematen digu. The late 18th and early 19th centuries were turbulent times in Europe and the Basque Country: changes in the economic system, starvation, revolts, wars and violent cultural upheavals… The creator of this work, Juan Ignacio Iztueta, lived during this turbulent period. He was from Zaldibia, in the province of Gipuzkoa. He authored a diverse oeuvre in Basque, of which a principal example: Gipuzkoako dantza gogoangarrien Kondaira edo Historia (A history of memorable dances of Gipuzkoa) is of immeasurable value, due to the information it renders on the ancient dances of Gipuzkoa and in kind, a glimpse into everyday life of society during this period which unfortunately has often been misinterpreted. This rendering has set out to reestablish the key issues in order to obtain a better understanding of the aforementioned issues. It also now offers us an opportunity to understand the tradition and evolution of these historic Gipuzkoan dances