Musician Fermin Muguruza sings in the Basque language – a language which was forbidden in Spain during Franco's regime. In this interview Fermin Muguruza speaks about his personal experiences with music censorship in Spain: Its mechanisms, its impact on the artist, and the authorities' fear of what music can do.  

Fermin Muguruza is often referred to as the most well-known Basque rock singer. He has been playing music in more than 25 years, and has performed with artists such as Manu Chau.

"The authorities are afraid of my music because it is a tool against the ignorance. And these authorities want the ignorance so that they can do what they want," he said when Freemuse interviewed him in March 2007.
"The political authorities are afraid of my music because I can meet a lot of different people, and they can listen to different ways of thinking..."

Fermin Muguruza's commitment for the rights of the political prisoners and against torture is allegedly regarded as a provocation by the governing conservative People's Party and the organisation 'Victims of Terror' (AVT).

The video interview was recorded by Mik Aidt and Ole Reitov in Copenhagen in Denmark on 29 March 2007.