José Luis Álvarez Emparanza or José Luis Álvarez Enparantza (San Sebastián, 1929) better known by his pseudonym Txillardegi, is a linguist, politician and Spanish writer in the Basque language

Basque language

Basque is the ancestral language of the Basque people, who inhabit the Basque Country, a region spanning an area in northeastern Spain and southwestern France. It is spoken by 25.7% of Basques in all territories...

. He's considered one of the most influential figures in Basque nationalism and culture in the second half of the 20th century.

Literary Work

He didn't learn Basque until the age of 17. For many years he also used the pseudonyms Igara, Usako and Larresoro in various publications in Basque. His work Leturiaren Egunkari Ezkutua is considered the first modern novel written in Basque and makes a clear dividing line in Basque literature

Basque literature

Although the first instances of coherent Basque phrases and sentences go as far back as the San Millán glosses dating back to about 950AD, the large-scale damage done by periods of great instability and warfare such as the clan wars of the Middle Ages, the Carlist Wars and the Spanish Civil War...

.

Political work

A member of the Basque Nationalist Party

Basque Nationalist Party

The Basque National Party is the largest and oldest Basque nationalist party. It is currently the largest political party in the Basque Autonomous Community also with a minor presence in Navarre and a marginal one in the French Basque Country...

 since his youth, he has defended an understanding of Basque identity based on language and has promoted the defense and study of Basque.

Txillardegi was one of the founders of ETA

ETA

ETA , an acronym for Euskadi Ta Askatasuna is an armed Basque nationalist and separatist organization. The group was founded in 1959 and has since evolved from a group promoting traditional Basque culture to a paramilitary group with the goal of gaining independence for the Greater Basque Country...

 in 1959, together with a group of young nationalists and was the visible leader of the cultural branch of the movement.

In 1977, he participated in the foundation of the coalition Herri Batasuna as party director for the Euskal Sozialista Biltzarrea (Congreso de Socialistas Vascos) and was elected senator in the coalition abertzale

Abertzale

Abertzale in the Basque language means "patriot", and it is mainly used to mean "Basque nationalist". It comes from the fusion of aberri with the suffix -zale .Although the term is synonym of "patriot", its common use...

 in the first elections.

Believing that the armed struggle was unviable, for a time he worked as a militant in Aralar

Aralar

Aralar may refer to:*Aralar Range, a mountain range*Aralar Party, a political party...

 and then publicly removed himself from the armed struggle when the party participated in an act of solidarity, organized by the Basque government, with the victims of ETA violence. He ran for municipal elections as part of the coalition Ezker Batua Berdeak (United Left - Green). In the general elections of 2008, he announced his candidacy for the Senate in the party Eusko Abertzale Ekintza

Eusko Abertzale Ekintza

Basque Nationalist Action is a Basque nationalist party based in Spain. Founded in 1930, it was the first Basque nationalist political party to exist running on a socialist program. On 16 September 2008, the party was outlawed by the Spanish Supreme Court based on ties with ETA...

 (Acción Nacionalista Vasca, or Nationalist Basque Action) for the precinct of Guipúzcoa.

External links

• Website of Txillardegi in the web gipuzkoakultura.net for Diputación Foral de Guipúzcoa.