The translation scholarship named after Jokin Zaitegi (Arrasate, 1906-Donostia, 1979), a writer, translator, teacher, and priest, organized or sponsored by AED, Elkar, Arrasate City Council, and Laboral Kutxa, will not be held in 2026. The reason for this decision is that the 2025 Nobel laureate in Literature, Hungarian author Laszlo Krasznahorkai, did not grant permission for his work to be translated into Euskera.
However, AED has organized two events to fill this void. The first, on April 23, will feature translator Gema Lopez Las Heras presenting Hang Kang's book The Vegetarian. The second, on May 7, EHU researcher Jon Diaz Egurbide will give a lecture titled “The influence of Jokin Zaitegi today.” Both events will take place in the main hall of Kulturate, at 18:00.
“"We don't know who Seber Altube, Pedro Ignacio Barrutia, and Jokin Zaitegi were, and we don't know who the classic Basque writers were, in general. Such figures should be essential lessons in educational centers, because they have been key to our culture. But the world is going in another direction today..."
Josemari Velez de Mendizabal (Aramaio, 1949), Zaitegi's biographer, has emphasized that the writer's contribution is “unknown” and highlighted the importance of teaching his figure in educational centers. Velez de Mendizabal met Zaitegi in Arrasate in 1973, and they maintained a close friendship until his death in 1979. This relationship led to the book Iokin Zaitegi, published in 1981.
One of Zaitegi's greatest contributions was the magazine Euzko gogoa, which he founded in Guatemala in 1950, according to Velez de Mendizabal. This magazine offered a platform for both veteran and young writers of the time, and Zaitegi invested almost all his money in the promotion of Euskera. Elkar editor Xabi Mendiguren has also highlighted Zaitegi's contribution as a “pioneer in translating the world into Euskera,” stating that he believed and put into practice the idea that Euskera could express all topics and knowledge of the world.
“"He was fundamental; he created an entire cultural infrastructure, in a way."
Translator Gema Lopez Las Heras, who won the Jokin Zaitegi scholarship in 2022 and 2024, has emphasized the importance of literary translation, especially in minority languages like Euskera. Lopez shared her experience translating Hang Kang's novel The Vegetarian, overcoming the obstacle of not knowing the original language by using several bridge languages and with the collaboration of the Korean-Basque Sora Ryu.
