Toti Martínez de Lezea

Esperanza Martínez de Lezea García (born in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, Spain, 1949) is a Spanish writer who writes both in Spanish and Basque. She is a certified translator in French, English and German. She is also a television presenter and actor; she is one of the founders of the Kukubiltxo theatre company.

Her work reflects her great interest in the European Middle Ages and specially in the history and traditions of the Basque Country. She has also written children's literature. She has written scripts and also directed children's and young people's programmes for EITB.

Biography Esperanza "Toti" Martínez de Lezea García was born in 1949 in Vitoria-Gasteiz, the capital city of Álava in the Basque Country. She began her undergraduate degree and moved to the region of Goierri of Gipuzkoa, where she stayed for one year studying the Basque language. She studied French for four years in France, and then English for three years in England, obtaining the corresponding degree and the secretariat of the Pittman School of London. She lived for two years in Germany. She worked as a translator and an actress. Together with her husband and other young people of the locality of Larrabetzu from Biscay, where she resides, she founded the street theatre company Kukubiltxo, in which she participated for five years. Between 1983 and 1984 she collaborated with the Department of Education of the Basque Government creating more than 40 educational videos and writing two books about Basque legends and theatrical activities. She also taught courses to the academic personnel of the aforesaid department. In 1985 she began collaborating with the Basque public television, Euskal Telebista, with a 13-chapter-series about nature themes. Between 1986 and 1992 she wrote and directed 1200 programmes for EITB in Basque for children and young people. In 1992 returned to her translator and interpreter activities and began a new period of literary activity. She created large sport and animation mascots for different events. Juan Luis Landa become her regular illustrator. Until now, she has 57 books published, some of which have been translated into French, German, Russian and Chinese.