Amaia Salamanca at 40: “The Basque Country is in my heart”

“The Basque Country is in my heart,” Amaia Salamanca says of Abadiño, the Biscay municipality tied to her mother’s family. Although she was born in Madrid, the actress spent much of her childhood and youth there, returning for summers and family visits long before her acting career took off.

That connection has endured. “Whenever I have the opportunity, especially in summer, I go there,” Salamanca told Noticias de Álava. She still visits Abadiño to see her mother and other family members, and now takes her children with her so they can discover the place their maternal grandmother comes from.

Abadiño lies in the Duranguesado area of Biscay, beside Urkiola Natural Park. Its landscape includes mountains, forests and trails. The town’s landmarks include the Urkiola Sanctuary, the historic Muntsaratz Tower and the Gerediaga Assembly House, linked to the institutional history of the Durango region.

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The Basque Country is in my heart.

The municipality also hosts the San Blas fair, known for local products and countryside traditions. Stalls offer cheeses, bread, honey, vegetables, cured meats, preserves and txakoli. Idiazabal cheese features prominently, alongside traditional dishes and sweets such as rosquillas and Bilbao-style macaroons.

For Salamanca, however, Abadiño means more than scenery or food. Its strongest pull remains family, a personal connection built during childhood and preserved through decades of filming and promotion work.

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Whenever I have the opportunity, especially in summer, I go there.