05/05/2009

As each member of the US Congress can dedicate one minute a year to address the house on a personal cause, Nevada representative Dina Titus (D) used this opportunity to acknowledge the University Studies Abroad Consortium (USAC) of the University of Nevada, Reno. Not only did she recognize the program’s excellence but also included a special tribute to Dr. Felix Menchacatorre, who passed away last August, that served USAC in several capacities, including resident director of the Bilbao program for over 25 years. “Estás en nuestro corazón, Félix”, she said. [Full program transcript and video]
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04/08/2009

The Delegation of Euskadi to the United States is currently promoting the development of a business network for businesspeople, entrepreneurs, and professionals of Basque descent or for those with ties to the Basque Country in the US called Emprebask – USA. Prior to the formal launching of the organization, several meetings have been organized in different parts of the country. The next two meetings will take place in San Francisco, California on April 16th and the second on April 18th in Salt Lake City, Utah. The latter coincides with the North American Basque Organizations spring meeting.
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04/01/2009

The Basque dance group Oinkari is celebrating its 50th anniversary with more than a year of activities. The festivities will begin at the St. Ignatius Basque picnic in Aug. 1-2 (the current Oinkari dancers will perform), culminating with Jaialdi in July of 2010 and ending with a dinner dance in December of 2010 - 50 years after the first group's first performance. "We're going to try to get all the alumni to dance at one time at Jaialdi", Al Erquiaga, one of the original members said. "That will be over 700 people". Though two of the original dancers now live out of state, all seven -now in their 70s- plan to join in the festivities. The newspaper Idaho Statesman interviewed those Oinkari pioneers in the following article.
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03/31/2009

Aita Martxel Tillous passed away today at 1:30pm (Basque Country time) at the Ania-Enia clinic in Cambo, after almost a year’s battle with cancer. He was born in Eskiula (Xiberoa), spent nearly 30 years as a missionary priest in Africa on the Ivory Coast. He also spent four years as the chaplain of Paris’s Euskal Etxea before serving nearly 14 years as the Basque chaplain in the United States. The funeral will take place this Friday in Eskiula at 3:00pm concelebrated by the Bishop of Bayonne and many other priests. May he rest in peace.
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03/24/2009

Sandy Ott, a University of Nevada, Reno Basque Studies professor, has received a 2009 Summer Stipend award from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Ott, an associate professor with expertise in Franco-Basque-Spanish-German relations during the 1930s and ’40s, was one of just 63 awardees nationally among 881 applicants. The stipends provide $6,000 for two months of full-time research and writing. “I am pleased to represent the University,” Ott said to the newspaper Nevada News. “I feel very honored to have won this award and will continue to do my very best to advance my scholarship, research and publications for our University.”
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03/10/2009

In an effort to ensure that an interested Basque child/youth is not left out of an activity because of lack of funds, the Aita Martxel Tillous NABO Youth Aid Fund was established after NABO’s last business meeting in Reno, NV. Initially the fund began with seed money transferred from other NABO funding sources, but since then the fund has grown thanks to generous donations on behalf of individuals and several empathetic Basque clubs and organizations. The application deadline is March 20, 2009.
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03/06/2009

If you have a basic command of the Basque language, live in the US and wish to be more involved in your culture, right now euskarak behar zaitu, euskara needs you to teach the language to beginners. Training will be provided by NABO and HABE. The majority of the students have little or no knowledge of the language, and need technical support. Economic incentives are available as well. If you see yourself in this role, or know someone else who could help, please don’t hesitate to contact Izaskun Kortazar, US Euskara coordinator. There is an immediate need for a teacher to work with kids at the goiz eskola in San Francisco, as well as other possibilities throughout the US.
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03/05/2009

The Delegation of Euskadi in the United States is inviting all Basque professionals, executives and entrepreneurs to participate in a series of encounters to discuss the potential of building a Basque business network across the US. Their first encounter will take place next Wednesday in Miami at 6:30 pm at the Euskal Etxea of Miami Basque Center. Emprebask, a network of business people, entrepreneurs and professionals of Basque descent or with ties with the Basque Country in the USA, will start this way increasing the dissemination of the idea to draw together a large amount of Basque businesses to participate. Other meetings will be held in April in San Francisco and Salt Lake City.
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03/02/2009

Last year, on the 25th anniversary of the Elgarrekin Basque Choir's landmark recording, the San Francisco Basque Club re-issued this collection of eleven Basque songs on Compact Disk. As the last issue of the SF Basque Club Aldizkaria recalls, the master recording tapes were found in storage at the Basque Cultural Center in 2007 and were digitalized and remastered by Robert Iriartborde. If you want to get the CD version of that memorable recording, you can order it online. It's also available though the Basque Club of San Francisco, contacting Philippe Acheritogaray.
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02/26/2009

A documentary about the Basques and their culture, by Anna Bruning, a University of New Hampshire senior, will be released next Saturday February 28 at the University of New Hampshire in the US. Bruning’s debut film entitled, “Omendu [Tribute to] Basques: Beyond the Bombs,” isn’t about politics, or about terrorism. According to Bruning, “This film is about the people who aren’t involved in terrorism. It’s about their culture, with the primary focus on their language because it is one of the most significant parts of their culture. It is now how they identify themselves. In the past, Basque identity was tied to hereditary traits, but today, identity is much more about the will to be Basque.” An article published this week by the University of New Hampshire News.
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