55 years of the Zarpai Banda in Hendaye: giant omelette, red berets and pirates… the founders share their memories of extraordinary parties

From July 18th to 20th, the Zarpai Banda will celebrate its 55th anniversary at the port of Caneta, in Hendaye. Since 1970, the association has been bringing the city to life with its spectacular festivals. As this new edition approaches, the two founders, Michel Lambert and Xavier Lassalle, have revived the memories of half a century of festive madness and popular loyalty.

After ten years of waiting, the Zarpai Banda will finally be able to celebrate its anniversary with the people of Hendaye. The grand reunion will take place from Friday, July 18 to Sunday, July 20, at the port of Caneta, and will make up for the absence of a canceled edition in 2020, the year the band was supposed to celebrate its 50th anniversary. A parenthesis imposed by the health crisis , which broke a beautiful regularity. Because for decades, the Zarpai has blown out its candles every five years, to the rhythm of extraordinary festivities. The founders, Michel Lambert and Xavier Lassalle, have unraveled the thread of an adventure that has become "legendary."

During an impromptu meeting at the Hendaye association's premises, home to the Zarpai culinary society, the two friends recounted the origins of the story with unwavering precision and enthusiasm. First, its beginnings on August 9, 1970. The Basque festival was canceled due to unpredictable weather. "A catastrophe for the people of Hendaye," confided Xavier. "A tsunami," added Michel.

We started with our only tank, in complete illegality, and all the people of Hendaye followed us.

The crowds are already flooding the streets, and the two friends, still well surrounded, gather a dozen or so "buddies." "We started with our only float, in complete illegality, and all the people of Hendaye followed us. You have to imagine: five kilometers of travel, barely eleven musicians, and the whole town behind us," Xavier smiles.

Especially since the rain never really showed up. The success was undeniable. The official event was finally rescheduled a few days later, on August 16. Once again, the very young Zarpai Banda was out, carried by popular enthusiasm and the certainty that there was now something to build.

On October 11 of the same year, the association's statutes were filed... in a cider house, over a ham and egg. The beginning of a musical adventure: first the banda, then the tamborrada in the 1980s, then the music school, and finally the culinary society , also founded during that decade.

To make itself known, the Zarpai Banda transformed itself into the conductor of extraordinary festive events. The first ones took place at the fronton: three per summer, the first of which were held in the late 1970s. At the time, the poster already promised a festive, friendly, and affordable event, with admission priced at 10 francs and a free packet of confetti.

At one point, the omelet had to be flipped. A crane was called in, and the cooks pulled it with ropes.

For its first major, memorable celebration, Zarpai saw things in a big way. In 1977, 11,000 people discovered a giant omelet. "630 kilos, 110 liters of oil, 3,600 eggs, seven kilos of salt," Michel recited with the precision of a master craftsman. The amazed crowd witnessed an extraordinary gastronomic spectacle. "At one point, we had to flip the omelet. We called in a crane, and the cooks pulled it with ropes," Xavier recounts.

The Zarpai Banda then got into the habit of always thinking bigger. On July 13, 1990, for its 20th anniversary, the association intended to "move into adulthood." One hundred and fifty volunteers mobilized to organize the "Feria de Tapas, " with, once again, a crazy idea: to reproduce its crest using 10,000 tapas, during a big event in Ondarraïtz.

Nothing is written, but a certain logic prevails: from now on, the Zarpai will celebrate its anniversary in grand style every five years. On August 18, the festivities are held in the heart of the brand new Sokoburu square, facing the marina. "Herriko Besta " , the red beret festival, brings together more than 10,000 people. All in a neighborhood that had just sprung up, built at the time by real estate developer Marc Boulin, who then operated the only business in the square, the restaurant "La Pinta." An anniversary all the more moving as it comes three months after the death of the association's president, Michel Martin.

It was a wonderful celebration, one of the most beautiful, with the reproduction of Pamplona's Calle Estafeta, a large farm...

In 1995, Zarpai was thinking bigger and bigger. Three days of celebrations, on August 18, 19, and 20, were organized on the Gaztelu-Zahar esplanade, with 300 volunteers mobilized and an impressive budget, boosted by advertisers and sponsors. "It was a wonderful party, one of the most beautiful, with a reproduction of Pamplona's Calle Estafeta, a large farm... The decor was now an integral part of the celebration," Xavier recalls, a twinkle in his eye.

For its 35th anniversary, Zarpai takes over the nautical center, on the bay of Txingudi. On June 3 and 4, 2005, the festival, called "Sol y Zarpai " , takes on an exotic feel, inspired by the islands of the Pacific and the Caribbean. At the entrance, flower necklaces are offered to each participant, who discovers, with their feet in the sand, a Tahitian villa or the "Alcazar do Brazil" marquee.

Back to the fronton in June 2010 , for a "slightly crazy" 40th anniversary. "We recreated the banks of the Marne, with a lake and boats. There was an incredible mix of atmospheres." Five years later, at the dawn of its half-century, the Zarpai set sail for the Tribord area for three days of celebrations under the pirate flag. An ever more ambitious event, where all the volunteers were on deck. The people of Hendaye surely remember the galleon stranded in the center of the Bidassoa esplanade, the treasure cave populated by parrots, the barrels of rum and the red bandanas... but above all the immense big top, transformed into a pirates' lair, where shows and banquets were mixed.

We recreated the banks of the Marne, with a lake and boats. It created an incredible mix of atmospheres.

In 2020, the health crisis brought to a halt a dynamic that had been underway for half a century. But the bond between Zarpai and the people of Hendaye has never been severed: the association continues to bring the Basque festival to life, appearing wherever there is music, joy, and reunions. So, after ten years of waiting, there is no doubt that the 55th anniversary, at the port of Caneta, will write a new page in this story. A page of celebration, memories, and joyful loyalty to the Zarpai spirit.