Wandering the streets, friends in tow, hopping from bar to bar, getting a bit of a drink and a pintxo – the tradition of the txikiteo. One of my favorite things to do in the Basque Country, txikiteo is the epitome of Basque social life. It’s a perfect way to spend time with your koadrila and to bump into other friends. It’s also a great way to see a Basque town, to get to know its heart. If you haven’t had the chance, I highly recommend an evening (or three) exploring your favorite city in a new way.

• No one really knows when the tradition of txikiteo began, but it’s a natural consequence of a region that has so many bars. In fact, the Basque Country has one of the highest number of bars in Europe, surpassing many countries. People would wander the bars, maybe initially to get news from the sailors visiting the ports. It grew into a social phenomenon, one of the primary ways Basques enjoy their cities and towns.
• The word txikiteo comes from the Basque word txikito, meaning small or little. People wander the bars, having a little bit to drink (a zurito or txikito) or a small bite to eat (a pintxo). While having some similarities to a pub crawl, drinking isn’t the goal. Rather, it is to socialize, to get out of the home and to see other people. People who are out on a txikiteo are called txikiteros.
• For a long time, txikiteo was an activity exclusive to men, but in recent years women have also participated, often with women-only groups wandering the streets. Txikiteo is the time when koadrilas go out and spend time together. It used to be an almost daily custom, but modern life has made it rarer, often a weekend activity at best. The recession and the pandemic didn’t help matters.
• Another driver changing the custom of txikiteo is tourism. Tourists aren’t used to how a txikiteo works. Instead, many are accustomed to sitting in one place and eating and drinking. So bars are adapting to this new reality and offering multi-pintxo deals, encouraging patrons to stay longer. This is in conflict with the very idea of txikiteo.
• The glass used for the wine has its own interesting history. The story goes that, in 1929, Queen Victoria Eugenia visited Bilbo (other stories say it was the Prince of Asturias in 1865). The city went all out for her visit, including lighting the streets with candles in glasses. After her visit, the city had an abundance of glasses they had no use for, so they gave them to the local bars. These proved perfect for txikito – they had a heavy base so that they didn’t slosh so much in the hands of somewhat inebriated patrons. While these traditional glasses have become rare, there is a bit of an initiative to bring them back.
• Txikiteo is such a part of Basque culture, Bilbo celebrates Txiketero Day on October 11.

A full list of all of Buber’s Basque Facts of the Week can be found in the Archive.

Primary sources: El vaso de txikito: tradición y cultura en Bilbao by Julia Flores, Radio Nervión; Un trago con muchas historias by Marta Hernández, Deia; Txikiteo, Wikipedia