It is 7:30 on a Tuesday, the morning sun has not quite made it over the horizon. María Teresa has already been up for an hour making coffee, having breakfast, separating and ironing her daughter's school clothes, and discussing the days events with her husband. All the while, as her husband walks in and out of their small kitchen and dining area, the radio has kept her company. She is listening to the deep lulling voice of .... from Radio Nacional Española.
The tall apartment buildings of Beraun cast their shadows making the streets seem darker and the air crisp and damp. María Teresa has left her 9th story piso and is on her way to walk her daughter to school. Once outside the building she greets her neighbor who according to the rotation is busy mopping the lobby and cleaning the steps. The building across the street has an large overhang that serves as a sheltered promenade and plaza. In the corner is a kiosk that sells newspapers, comics, magazines and sweet treats for children. María Teresa crosses the street with her daughter and gives her 125 pesetas.
The young girl, named Pilar, after the patron saint of Spain, runs excitedly to the corner kiosk drops the coins on a newspaper and grabs a copy of El Mundo. Not an ounce of hesitation was apparent, even when the young girl faced 4 different newspapers of different prices. Before she runs off the woman minding the kiosk reminds the girl to take a plastic bag for the newspaper. Pilar returns with a look of satisfaction. It is apparent that she enjoys the responsibility. For as long as she can remember, Pilar had witnessed her mother buy the newspaper at corner kiosk from the same woman. She was first allowed to partake in the purchasing of the newspaper when she she was four, she is now 8 years old.
As Mother and daughter leave the kiosk, go down some steps and turn to head down for school side wall next to them reads "Gora ETA". The message is scribbled free hand with a can of black spray paint. The message can be roughly translated into English as a supportive "Go! ETA". Amidst the rows of tall buildings that date back to Franco the message serves as a startling reminder of black and white portrayals of Spain vs. the Basques that is today overlooked, ignored as Mother and daughter engage in light conversation on the way to school.
Farther down the hill, closer to the Rentería town center, Miguel leaves his parents apartment at 8, to catch el Topo to San Sebastián where he is continuing his studies. Though he still lives with his parents he barely sees them during the day. By the time he wakes and rushes out the door they have left for work. Miguel hurries to the station but before entering, he stops at a small Liburutegia to get his newspaper. The attendant recognizes the familiar face and folds him a copy of Egin to carry under his arm. Miguel reads the newspaper while on the train, during his morning coffee break and then in the afternoon when he returns to his neighborhood and sits at the corner bar where he is a regular. When he is not reading it, the newspaper is folded neatly in half and held under his arm.
At 6pm the newspaper is still in hand as he enters his evening adult Basque language class at the AEK down by the center of town. While he waits for the teacher to arrive he does not engage in small talk with other students and teachers, but sits comfortably with his leg crossed and the newspaper open before him to finish reading the days news. As class begins, he sets the newspaper down on the desk next to him, where it will stay as he leaves to meet his friends for a finger or two of beer. At 8pm, the Egin saves another student who would rather not rehearse his Basque before class. As the next teacher walks in the newspaper gives her the perfect segway to start the night's class: "So, let's begin by restating some of the day's news. Pako we'll start with you."
In one of Oiartzun's newer communities there are no corner kiosks or stores. Joxe Mari picks up his dialy newspaper at his doorstep. He glances over the headlines and leaves El Diario Vasco behind for his wife and mother in law to read. Joxe Mari will read bits of news when he grabs a copy of El Diario Vasco at the bar near the office which he frequents during his morning break. There with a tumbler with a finger or two of wine from the Alava Rioja and a pincho or two he takes a few minutes to read the paper. His reading is interrupted by the casual meeting of a co-worker. Following the unwritten rule, they talk about the weather, food, wine, anything but work and the politics of the day only if you know what to expect.
At noon, Joxe Mari makes it home for his leisurely two hour home cooked lunch. His wife, Elisabete is back from school with time enough to fix a salad to compliment her mother's macaroni and meat sauce. The Grandmother informs the parents that the kids have already eaten and are getting ready for the bus to pick them up at any minute now. After the children are gone, the Grandmother turns the television on to the midday news hour on ETB. There in the privacy of their home Joxe Mari and his wife Elisabete will watch the news out of the corner of their eyes and talk about things of interest. By the time the news is done the Grandmother has dozed off and Joxe Mari and Elisabete are ready to leave once again.