White is today the color of the clothes of the festayres at the Fêtes de Bayonne, but this has not always been the case. When these festivals were created in 1932, it was rather navy blue and white, traditional colors in the Basque Country, that dominated. And then, over the years, that all changed. In 1954, the Festival Committee invited Bayonnais to wear the official colors of the city, green and red. It’s not really a success. Then, under the impetus of the main peñas in the 1970s, white made its way, as explained by Henri Lauqué, the president of the Bayonne Festival Commission.
Henri Lauque : It’s true that before the war and just after the war, we see in particular at cow races festayres in suits and ties. I also knew in my youth the outfit which was that of overalls, which was really not very aesthetic. In the 1960s and 1970s, the white shirt began to flourish with an evolution that started with animation groups. In the 70s and the decade 70-80 the white color arrived in the peñas. In the 80s and 90s, we began to see it become widespread and just before the year 2000, the white outfit was totally imposed. It completely levels social values and that’s the party. It is both this intergenerational mixture, this societal mixture that the Bayonne Festival succeeded and that the white outfit largely contributed to imposing.
White for the clothes, red for the scarf
Along with the white outfit, the wearing of the red scarf around the neck is the other symbol of the Bayonne Festival. This tradition comes from Pamplona. It refers to the martyrdom of San Firmin, a native of the Navarrese capital. Whatever happens, a Bayonne native will never wear his scarf around his neck before the opening ceremony of the Bayonne Festival, Wednesday evening at 10 p.m. He will remove it at the end of the holidays, on Sunday evening at midnight after closing.
Henri Lauque : The red scarf is still quite ubiquitous. The variants are those made by the different peñas or associations that personalize their scarf. The red scarf and the red cinta are also a set that is very beautiful. I think the white and red are here for a while. But that there are variations and customizations, that’s fine too.
The Bayonne peñas at the holidays
The Bayonne peñas each have their scarf, it can be red of course, but also dark blue, checkered, blue and white, blue and pink, blue and yellow. The peñas are typical associations of Bayonne. André Lascoumes is one of the pillars of Or Konpon, one of the oldest peñas in the city.
Andre Lascoumes : a peña is a society of friends, a society of friends based above all on trust and friendship. For example, at our Or Konpon, there are only men. The women are delighted to be our wives or companions since they only come for the pleasant moments. To enter our peña, you must be elected by two-thirds of the voting members. This guarantees a little bit of entry and the confidence that we place in the people who come there and who have been participating with us for 44 years.
Or Konpon is one of the 48 peñas of the GAB, the grouping of Bayonne associations. These peñas actively participate in the Bayonne Festival. They open their doors to the public during the five days of the Bayonne Festival. The opportunity to discover unusual places. Atmosphere and good spirit guaranteed!