Getting to know the women bertsolaris

Abstract

The history of bertsolaris is a paradigm of empowerment. The negation or oblivion of the bertsolaris, in the first place. The double marginalization of improvisers in their beginnings: for being women and for singing in a popular culture, in second place. And finally, the direct relationship that has been established systematically between the improvisation and men has characterized the history of Bertsolaris women. This study in order to propose the reading of the history of bertsolaris as a process of empowerment (Malhotra, 2015), surveyed 200 bertsolaris and conducted five focus group with 20 bertsolaris. In this way, it concludes that the current improvisers sing because previously others sang. And from their beginning, the improvisers have fought, resisted and negotiated the power, developing internal and group consciousness, which derives in a process of empowerment from the last two decades.