euskalkultura.eus

Donostia-San Sebastian.  Mateo Franzoia Anacabe, from Elko, NV, will join the team made up of Rocio Basterra from Argentina and Sonia Kolazcek from Poland, along with actor Joanes Passicot from Iparralde.  Together they will travel the festivals in the Basque Country and at the end of the summer will decide which ones were the best.  The program is aired on ETB and its goal is to show the festivals from a different point of view:  that of Basques from the Diaspora.

The program can be seen every day on ETB at 21:30; on ETBSAT-2 Monday through Friday at 19:30; and on Canal Vasco Monday-Friday at 21:30 (Argentinean time).  Programs may also be seen via streaming, at the user’s convenience on ETB A la Carte.  All you need to do is search “Yes, we jai!” in the list of programs and choose which chapter you would like to see.

Western Basque

Mateo is the last person to join the program.  He is a young Basque-American born in Elko, NV where his family still lives.  His mother is Anita Anacabe, very well-known in the local Basque community.  She teaches Basque as well as runs the family business: a general merchandise store that her father established.  This year Anita is being awarded the Bizi Emankorra award by the North American Basque Organizations in recognition for her contributions to the Basque culture in the US.

Mateo was raised in the Basque culture in his town and was a dancer, along with his three sisters: Teresa, Andrea and Kristina.  Teresa is very involved in the Basque dance community in the US, and has also done an internship with EuskalKultura.com while she studied at the University of the Basque Country on a USAC program.  Mateo speaks Basque fluently as his mother always spoke to him in Basque, and has also had the opportunity to study and improve the language of his maternal grandparents in the Basque Country as well as a the University of Nevada Reno where he recently graduated with an Engineering degree.

Mateo won’t be able to assist with the Basque Festival in Elko this year, which is very famous in the US for its running from the bulls, complete with live bulls, but instead he’ll have the chance to enjoy San Fermin in Iruña and Lesaka.  Ondo pasa eta zorte on!