Itziar Ituño was already well-known in the Basque Country, but she made a leap to international fame after the television series ‘Money Heist’. Within three days of its release on Netflix, she gained up to three million followers on Instagram, and ultimately, her adventure in Madrid lasted five years.

When she was a child, her schoolmates laughed when she said she wanted to be an actress, as she was quite shy. However, she was determined to pursue her dream. Even so, she did not expect to achieve such fame. Initially, she had no intention of participating in the Madrid project and was taken aback when she found out she had been chosen, as she felt very comfortable living and working in the Basque Country. However, she decided to give it a try, and now she is leveraging the impact she gained from the series to promote and spread Basque culture and language.

In this episode of the BASQUE. Podcast, Itziar shares her journey as an actress and her thoughts on the role of art as a tool for social change.

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Itziar Ituñok bazuen izena Euskal Herrian, baina La Casa de Papel telesailaren ostean mundura egin zuen jauzi. Netflixen estreinatu eta hiru egunetara, hiru milioi jarraitzailetaraino heldu zen Instagramen eta, azkenean, bost urtez luzatu zen bere Madrilgo abentura.

Txikitan, aktore izan nahi zuela esan zuenean, barrez hasi zitzaizkion eskolako lagunak, oso lotsatia baitzen. Baina garbi zuen bere ametsa. Halere, ez zuen espero hainbesteko ospea lortuko zuenik. Hasiera batean ez zuen Madrilgo proiektuan parte hartzeko asmorik, eta sustoa hartu zuen bera hautatu zutela jakiterakoan, eroso bizi baitzen Euskal Herrian. Baina froga egitea erabaki zuen, eta, egun, telesailaren eztandari esker lortu duen oihartzuna baliatzen ari da euskal kultura eta hizkuntza aldarrikatu eta hedatzeko.

BASQUE. podcastaren atal honetan, bere ibilbideaz eta arteak aldaketarako tresna gisa duen funtzioaz hausnartu du aktoreak.

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This podcast is produced by Ulu Media for Etxepare Basque Institute:

• Director: Oier Aranzabal
• Translation: Diana Draper
• Sound Design: Oier Aranzabal
• Sound mixed at Ulu Studio
• Producer: Cristina Tapia Huici

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You can also explore more stories about Basque culture and creativity on our websites www.basqueculture.eus and www.etxepare.eus.

Follow us on social media:

https://www.instagram.com/etxepareinst

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Itziar Ituño, actress: “The art that unsettles us, that moves us, is usually full of love”

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Itziar Ituño, aktorea: “Bihotzean azkura eragiten digun artea, hunkitzen gaituena, maitasunez beteta egon ohi da".

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This podcast is produced by Ulu Media for Etxepare Basque Institute:

• Director: Oier Aranzabal
• Translation: Diana Draper
• Sound Design: Oier Aranzabal
• Sound mixed at Ulu Studio
• Producer: Cristina Tapia Huici

____

You can also explore more stories about Basque culture and creativity on our websites www.basqueculture.eus and www.etxepare.eus.

Follow us on social media:

https://www.instagram.com/etxepareinst

https://x.com/etxepareinst

https://www.facebook.com/etxepareinst

Hiromi Yoshida learned Basque before ever stepping into the Basque Country, three decades ago. Since then, she has frequently visited us. We met the linguist and Basque language teacher in Azpeitia, a town she particularly loves. In fact, she wrote her thesis on the local dialect and translated Bernart Etxepare’s Linguae Vasconum Primitiae, the first book written in Basque, into Japanese.

Yoshida highlights the dialects and the dynamic nature of the Basque language, but she is concerned about its health, as it is not easy for minority languages to survive in a globalised world. In this episode of the Basque. Podcast, we will closely explore the journey of this Japanese researcher from the moment she fell in love with the Basque language to the present day.

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Euskal Herrian sekula izan gabe ikasi zuen euskara, duela hiru hamarkada, eta orduz geroztik maiz etorri da. Hiromi Yoshida hizkuntzalari eta euskara irakaslearekin elkartu gara Azpeitian, bereziki maite duen herrian. Izan ere, bertako euskalkiari buruz egin zuen tesia, eta japonierara itzuli zuen Bernart Etxepareren Linguae Vasconum Primitiae liburua, euskaraz idatzitako lehena.

Euskalkiak eta gure hizkuntzaren dinamikotasuna nabarmentzen ditu Yoshidak, baina kezkatuta dago euskararen osasunarekin, ez baita erraza hizkuntza gutxituentzat mundu globalizatuan bizirautea. Basque. podcastaren atal honetan, gertutik ezagutuko dugu ikertzaile japoniarraren ibilbidea, euskararekin maitemindu zenetik gaurdaino.

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This podcast is produced by Ulu Media for Etxepare Basque Institute:

• Director: Oier Aranzabal
• Translation: Diana Draper
• Sound Design: Oier Aranzabal
• Sound mixed at Ulu Studio
• Producer: Cristina Tapia Huici

____

You can also explore more stories about Basque culture and creativity on our websites www.basqueculture.eus and www.etxepare.eus.

Follow us on social media:

https://www.instagram.com/etxepareinst

https://x.com/etxepareinst

https://www.facebook.com/etxepareinst