SAGARDI Group has rewarded Ainhoa Arteta, the most international Spanish soprano, with the ‘‘Txapeldun of the Year 2019’’. Her great charm and character, her strong Basque identity and personal career have turned her into the first woman that receives this award.

The ‘‘Txapeldun of the Year’’ by Sagardi Group is a distinction that attempts to gather people that thanks to their personal career had contributed with creativity, critical spirit, and cosmopolitan mentality to the society. In this case, it has been taken into account the personal and professional career of Arteta, her open personality and her intensity, that fits in with Sagardi’s essence: originality, authenticity and respect to tradition, with an innovative personality and the willing to spread the Basque spirit around the world.

The award delivery took place in the 1881 per SAGARDI restaurant. The event gathered a hundred people and the main dishes served were the popular “alubias” (beans) from Tolosa and the ‘‘txuleton’’, some of Sagardi’s specialities. The president of the group, Iñaki Lz. de Viñaspre, handed over the traditional Basque ‘‘txapela’’ –with which the champion is crowned in Euskadi– and a sculpture piece from the Basque artist Juan Gorroti, specially made for the occasion.

‘‘Ainhoa is a charming Basque woman with great character who has known how to become our most international soprano. Without any doubts, she is the perfect person to represent our Txapeldun 2019. Ainhoa represents really well our ideals, since with effort, tenacity, a lot of talent and a bit of madness she has become one of the main figures of the competitive world of the lyric. She is an authentic “txapeldun”, a cosmopolitan Basque that brings her talent and tradition pridefully around the world, just like we do’’, proclaimed in the event Iñaki Lz. de Viñaspre, president and chef of SAGARDI.

The former “txapeldunes” Mikel Urmeneta, founder of Kukuxumusu and now leading Katuki Saguyaki, the journalist Jon Sistiaga, and Karra Elejalde, actor featured in the film “8 apellidos vascos”, among other personalities such as Bruno Oro, Elena Gadel or Lloll Bertran did not miss the chance of living this small tribute to one of the greatest figures of the classical music panorama of Spain.

 

 

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