La copla de Etxaleku

Abstract

This article informs of a “copla” in Basque sung by the inhabitants of the Navarrese village of Etxaleku. The year in which it was composed, 1491, means that it can be considered the oldest Basque song found in Navarrese territory, it being earlier than the verses sung in honour of the King Juan de Labrit and Queen Catalina of Navarre by Francisco Alesón and included in the Annales de Navarra, dated 1494. The “copla” of Etxaleku is a light-hearted song about a man who, stripped of his wealth and left by his wife, leaves the village and no-one knows where he has gone