Students of Spanish attend a performance of “El Caserío”

On the 23rd of January, Instituto Hemingway and its students will attend the premiere of the play “El Caserío” in the Arriaga Theatre, a classic set within the heart of the Basque country. This is a lyrical comedy with music by the genius Jesús Guridi, a person linked to the area through works such as Mirentxu and Amaya.

“El Caserío” is a work based around a home in the countryside, a stronghold of deeply rooted family values. It tells the love story of two cousins, combining words in Euskera (the Basque language) with idiomatic expressions in Castillian Spanish, with typical Basque accent, pronunciation and structures. It is an operetta full of charm, mixing the old with the modern, and a work typical of Bilbao in the sense that it is based in the rural Biscayan countryside with topics that transcend time. There are popular characters involved in the imaginary of the Basque Country, such as pelota players, comedians, choirs and dancers. The melodies are simple and catchy.

Citizens of Bilbao are in charge of the orchestra and scenic direction; in such a performance, it could not be any other way. This operetta deals with more popular themes (“zarzuela de género chico”) and will be a guaranteed success with the general public and theatre critics alike.

Once the performance is over, we will leave the Arriaga Theatre and head to the Casco Viejo to indulge in some wine and pintxos (tapas from the Basque country) and, by doing so, we will be able to reminisce on times gone by. The students of Spanish from Instituto Hemingway will be able to enjoy this same essence of Bilbao today.