Bertsolaritza or bertsolarism is the art of singing extemporaneously composed songs in Basque according to various melodies and rhyming patterns. Bertsos can be composed at a variety of occasions but are performed generally by one or various bertsolaris onstage in an event arranged for the purpose or as a sideshow, in homage ceremonies, in benefit lunches and suppers, with friends or at a competition. Such a sung piece of composition is called a bertso, the person who sings it is called a bertsolari and the art of composing bertsos is called bertsolaritza in
Basque. Traditionally these were sung by men but there is an increasing number of young female bertsolaris today.
The bertsolari Mattin Treku composing a bertso in Sare in 1960
A title page of Bertsolariya, a bertso paper that appeared between 1931 and 1932
Bertsolaris Larralde and Hiriart performing in Sara, Labourd (1936)
Popular bertsolaris of the mid-1970s
A beret is a soft, round, flat-crowned cap, usually of woven, hand-knitted wool, crocheted cotton, wool felt, or acrylic fibre.
A soldier of the Italian Folgore Brigade wearing a beret.
Olentzero, a Basque Christmas figure, wears a beret
Beret, 1884
A Cantabrian craftsman wearing a boina