Gardnerville, Nevada, US. The Mendiko Euskaldun Cluba in Minden-Gardnerville, Nevada celebrates its 40th anniversary of its founding in 1981 thanks to Anita Izoco and Jeannette Fernandez in this area of great Basque implantation. In 1988, they began the joint celebration of their picnic in conjunction with “NABO’s Kantari Eguna,” a Basque song and Bertso festival that now alternates between Gardnerville, and the Iparreko Ibarra Basque Club in Rocklin, California. As many other activities, the pandemic has caused the cancellation of a number of in-person activities, but not Kantari Eguna itself, which this year will be celebrated virtually, thanks to the coordination of Mikaela Goicoechea, NABO’s Musical Director.
Mikaela, born in Rock Springs, Wyoming, whose father is a Bertsolari originally from Gorriti, Navarre, and whose mother is also a musician, is a singer who just graduated with a degree in music from the University of Arizona, in addition to serving as the Director of Musical programs for NABO. During the quarantine, she promoted the Foku Musikala that serves to disseminate songs and resources in relation to Basque music.
In collaboration with the Mendiko Euskaldun Club she decided to create a virtual Kantari Eguna and invite everyone wanting to sing, or play an instrument to record a Basque song and email the video to music@nabasque.eus. Mikaela will then gather these and edit the submission to produce a final product to be able to celebrate the virtual edition of this annual festival of Basque Popular Son in the USA.
Deadline to submit videos is June 30th, so don’t wait!
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