Euskal kultura

A Basque icon that reflects scenes of the local Basque history. The “Basque Mural” in the capital city is situated downtown, on a wall on the side of the Historic Fronton and Hotel Anduiza, constructed in1904 to accommodate and entertain the Basque community. Painted in 2000, the Basque mural will now be substituted, according to the City Council, due to its deterioration. It will be replaced shortly by a reproduction of the original but this time in vinyl.

Boise, ID. The mural is one of the Basque architectural and decorative elements that can be found in Boise, reflecting the presence, contribution and the insertion of the Basques in Boise and American surroundings. It is situated downtown, just blocks from City Hall, and is part of the Basque Block, facing Capitol Boulevard, between the Bar Gernika and a Bank, on the walls of the centennary Hotel and Fronton Anduiza, in the so-called “City of trees.”

The mural was done in 2000, and this 18 years out in the open air have already begun to take its toll. Last Tuesday, the city council decided to substitute the original with a new version in a more resistant material, created on the basis of a smaller version of the original, scanned and enlarged to the current size, by the same group of artists that designed and painting the mural, according to the local Idaho Statesman newspaper.

The mural was painted coinciding with the Jaialdi 2000 Festival by the group, The Letterheads. Members Bill Hueg and Noel Weber were instrumental. Now, they are also in charge of the updated version. The Letterheads is a group that paints murals in cities across the United States, and has done two in Boise: one on the Adelmann building on Main Street and the Basque Mural on the Basque Block. The city doesn’t have any plans for the other that is in better shape than the Basque mural, although in this case, it isn’t their property, according to the city’s spokesperson, Mije Journee, in the Idaho Statesman.

Explanatory panel of the elements in the Basque Mural in Boise

The substitution of the Basque Mural will be done through auzolan (cooperation) among various institutions. The city will pay for the original with a budget that yet has to be determined, although it is already clear that “this way will be much cheaper than painting it.” Josh Olson, from the Department of Art and History in Boise, indicated that artists will provide a sacanned version to the Basque Museum and Cultural Center, who is responsible for the production and installation of the replacement. The result, a vinyl version, will measure 8 x 48 feet.

The paint used for the original was supposed to last between 1-12 years.

The city has not disclosed how long before the new version will be installed.

These are the elements represented in the mural:

01. Basques going out in the world: explorers and merchants

02. The beginning of everything: Baserria – Basque farmhouse

03. “Guernica” by Picasso

04. Identity and freedom: the Tree of Gernika

05. Basque boardinghouses in Boise and the US: Uberuaga/Aguirre

06. Basque American folklore Juanita Uberuaga Hormaechea

07. Boise Basque dancers: Oinkari Dantza Taldea

08. San Inazio, Basque festivals in Boise and St. John’s Cathedral

09. Local Basque music: Jim Jausoro