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HABE technician, Kinku Zinkunegi, is on a tour of several American Basque clubs, as part of the Euskara Munduan Program.  After traveling to Cuba and Mexico, this weekend he will be in San Francisco, where the Basque Club Euskera teachers from the US and Canada will gather to evaluate the development of their courses and new proposals. 

San Francisco, CA, USA.   As part of the development of the Euskera Munduan Basque courses at Basque clubs, HABE technician, Kinku Zinkunegi, will be in the US this weekend participating in a meeting of Basque professors in the US and Canada.

The event will take place tomorrow and the day after at the San Francisco Basque Cultural Center (SFBCC) and its goal is to respond to problems and shortcoming experienced by these teachers in their daily activity, Zinkunekgi explained to EuskalKultura.com.  “The teachers have proposed several topics to talk about like: how to motivate students, how to get them to speak Basque, using songs to teach…,” he said.

In addition, on Sunday afternoon he will meet with NABO’s Euskera Committee.  The aim of this meeting is to evaluate the last few years, as well as make a four-year plan. From there he will travel to Washington DC to participate at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival at the Basque language section.

Cuba and México

Before traveling to the US, Zinkunegi visited both Cuba and Mexico.  In Cuba, he met with the directors of the Cuba Basque Club to follow up with their new Basque course.  HABE and the Basque club signed an agreement of collaboration just two years ago and little by little, their activity is getting stronger.  This year, they had twenty-some students and according to the board, the number of interested persons is growing.

“This year, they would like to offer two levels, one for beginners, and another for those who have been studying for these two years, and are a bit more advanced,” Kinku said.  Maider Varela is the Basque club teacher in Cuba.

Afterwards, Zinkunegi traveled to Mexico, where he met with the new Board of Directors at the Mexico City Basque club.  Club president, Lorea Palacios, invited Kinku to a regular board meeting where they talked about the progress of the Basque classes.

The club in Mexico has offered Basque for several years.  This year, they had 25 students, and looking at next, the board would like to create another group.  “It is pretty complicated to attract new students, the city is huge and it is difficult to come to the club to attend classes once a week.  Looking to the future, they are looking at some online course options.  The Basque teacher in Mexico is Gurutzne Etxeberria, who is originally from Amezketa, Gipuzkoa and has lived in Mexico for many years.  She is an exceptional teacher,” he concluded.