The Azpeitia City Council has published Hamaika egun Azpeitia, a novel by Imanol Elias found in the author's bibliographic collection. The presentation included the mayor Nagore Alkorta, librarian Beatriz Aranbarri, Elias's widow Itziar Oiarzabal, his son Asier Osa, and editors Pello Elorza and Jose Luis Otamendi.
The work is published thirteen years after the author's death. The mayor presented it as a "gift" and praised Imanol Elias's work in preserving the memory of the people of Azpeitia, emphasizing that "his work continues to bear fruit".
Imanol Elias's widow, Itziar Oiarzabal, donated his books and over 2,000 books and documents forming the bibliographic collection to the council in 2015. Although stored at the Azpeitia Municipal Library, this collection was not accessible until 2023. The librarians, led by Beatriz Aranbarri, have organized and cataloged this material, and within it, they discovered Elias's unpublished novel.
“"A significant part of the intellectual and personal heritage that Elias collected and preserved throughout his life is kept in the library."
Beatriz Aranbarri highlighted the "special story" of the discovery and celebrated three things: "the generosity of a donation, the preservation of a heritage, and the public birth of a previously unknown novel".
Hamaika egun Azpeitia blends elements of a crime novel and a historical narrative. According to Jose Luis Otamendi, who edited the book, the story is set in the summer of 1870, a turbulent period preceding the second Carlist War. The novel combines real streets and buildings of Azpeitia from that era with fiction, although the main characters, such as the lawyer from Zumaia Joxe Arruti, are fictional.
Pello Elorza, the other editor, handled the digitization and updating of the book. "The original has 170 pages, and I scanned them one by one," he explained. He described the book as "fresh and beautiful," and revealed that the lawyer Arruti receives a letter from a resident of Azpeitia, initiating "the whole drama."
Itziar Oiarzabal, Elias's widow, recalled that the writer himself mentioned having completed a second novel titled Hamaika egun Azpeitia. After reading the manuscript found in the library, she found it "surprising," feeling that "Imanol has been in the library and in our home." She recalled Elias's phrase "what is written remains written," and praised his cultural work.
The book will not be sold, but the council will later explain how interested parties can obtain it. The presentation event concluded with a violin performance by Amaia Aranaga of the song Txoriak txori.
