05/12/2011

Fresno will celebrate its annual summer picnic during the second weekend of May, closely followed by the Los Banos and Bakersfield’s festivals. Every year the month of May kicks off the Basque festival season across the western states of the US, which ends in October with festivals in Las Vegas, Nevada Rocklin and Santa Rosa, California. The main celebration will take place July 22-24 in Buffalo, Wyoming, where the NABO convention and festival will take place. Let’s review in more detail a summary of the 2011 Basque festival calendar.
Read more...
05/11/2011

As part of the festival that begins tomorrow at the University of Birmingham, the Basque film '80 egunean' (In 80 days) will be shown on May 19th. Jon Garaño, one of the directors of this Basque film, will be at the showing and will participate in a symposium on the movie. The festival was organized by the English university with the collaboration of the Etxepare Institute, la Xunta de Galicia and the Ramon Llull Institute of Catalonia.
Read more...
05/10/2011

Members of the Washington, DC Euskal Etxea gathered on Saturday, May 7 at Rock Creek Park, in the heart of the nation's capital to celebrate their annual Aberri Eguna Picnic. Members joined in this 5th edition of the picnic and enjoyed food, drinks, music and even had the chance to play a homemade txalaparta. According to Jurdana Izagirre, one of the club's founders, "It was a great turnout when you take into account that there are only 33 members in the club!” The Washington, DC Basque Club hopes to recruit more members through these events, and so far two more families have already joined this year.
Read more...
05/09/2011

This year’s edition of Korrika motivated more Basques than ever to put on their tennis shoes and run in support of the Basque language, including those in the Diaspora. Korrika fever reached remote corners of the world like Australia on May 1st when the Basque Club of Northern Queensland celebrated the race for the first time. The race coincided with the annual Aberri Eguna lunch, an ideal opportunity to embrace old friends and celebrate that no member of the organization suffered serious damage during the floods that occurred in Northern Australia earlier this year.
Read more...
05/06/2011

Over 200 members of Chino’s Basque club got together on April 30th, to celebrate its annual Pilota Besta (Handball Fest). This year’s event took place at a very special venue: the Bidart Family Fronton. Thirty years have passed since Mike and Jeannette built the fronton at their family home. Since then, its doors have been opened to pilota players and fans from the entire community. Chino’s Basque club wanted to show its appreciation to the Bidart’s through this special tribute.
Read more...
05/05/2011

Once again, people from the Baztan area, in Navarre, got together at Mexico City’s Basque Center to celebrate their holiday, Baztango Eguna (Baztan Day). There is a large community of people from this region in the city and the wonderful atmosphere enjoyed every year has made more than one declare themselves natives of Baztan, if not only in their hearts. This year’s festivities were touched with sadness at the passing of Alberto Alday, historian and researcher of the Baztan Diaspora and a very well known member of the Navarrese-Mexican community.
Read more...
05/04/2011

In July of 2011, Boise Basque dancing group, The Oinkaris, will be traveling to the Basque Country for two weeks. Such trips are crucial for maintaining the authenticity of the group’s repertoire, as well as forming and maintaining connections with native Basque dance groups. The Oinkaris will take this opportunity not only to learn from native Basque dancing groups, but they will also showcase what they have to offer in their unique place as American-Basques traveling back to the homeland.
Read more...
05/02/2011

Korrika came to Boise on Saturday, April 30, marking both the end of this year’s edition of the Basque run and the beginning of a new biyearly tradition in support of the Basque language in Idaho’s capital. This event will join the many already in place in this Western town that promote the Basque culture. All proceeds from Boise’s Korrika will go to support US Basque language students that wish to attend a 'barnetegi' (Basque language boarding school) in the Basque Country.
Read more...
04/29/2011
The tragic news came this afternoon from Lander Santamaria from Elizondo, who had in turn been notified by his friend Ondikol, chronicler and photographer from Baztan that Alberto Alday had died. Some had found it strange that Alberto had been uncharacteristically absent from the Vascosmexico on-line forum recently, but now we know that he had been battling lymphoma, since being diagnosed a month ago. Finally, it was the lymphoma and other complications that took him. A great friend to Baztan and to Mexico, Alberto Alday Garay was a researcher who specialized in the Basque Diaspora, particularly that of Baztan. His connections to the Diaspora were more than just professional; he also has family in Salt Lake City, Utah, a cousin to Mary Gaztambide former NABO president.
Read more...
04/29/2011

A Mus workshop is being offered in Mountain Home Idaho tonight. This class is free of charge and offered to Euskal Lagunak Club members in response to their wishes to become more involved in the Basque card game. It will be held at the Bengoechea Hotel which is next to the local clubhouse from 6:30 to 8:30PM. The teachers are coming from Boise and are all members of Boise Euzkaldunak Basque club including Steve Achabal, Xanti Alcelay, Jill Aldape and Tyler Smith.
Read more...