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Buenos Aires, Argentina.   As part of the “Buenos Aires Celebrates the Basque Country,” the community was able to get to know various expressions of culture and the reality of Euskal Herria that, despite the distance, took place on this side of the world. The festival, directed by Iñaki Aramayo, too place simultaneously on two stages at each one of the booths.  Basque authorities and city government officials were also in attendance. Representing the Basque Government was the Delegate of Euskadi in Argentina and Mercosur, Sara Pagloa and the Director of the Etxepare Basque Institute, Aizpea Goenaga.  Representing the local government were Claudio Avruj and Julio Croci.

[One of the more significant images without a doubt during the student parade from the Euskal Echea College.  Carrying the Argentinean flag and Ikurriña the youth walked towards the main stage to inaugurate the festival (photoEuskalKultura.com)]

[Once the festival began the main stage featured music and dance.  Accompanied by the Lagun Onak Choir and Maestro Jose Gutierrez, the Laurak Bat dantzari, Mauro Uranga danced the Aurresku.  Following the Lagun Onak performed more song from their repertoire including Txoria Txori and Kattalin (photoEuskalKultura.com)]

[Without a doubt, one of the main attractions of the event was the food options.  Both the more common and the more “culinary.”  There was a huge array of typical dishes.  In the photos, well-known chefs and better known paellas from the San Nicolas Basque club (photoEuskalKultura.com)]

[The Lazkao Restaurant in La Plata also had a stand at the BAC 2014.  Its specialty in this case was txistorra. In the photo, Chef Jose Boccardo (photoEuskalKultura.com)]

[In front of the Laurak Bat booth there were also long lines.  There you could taste a wonderful paella (photoEuskalKultura.com)]

[At the Denak Bat, in Lomas de Zamora, booth, the menu was txistorra, beans, empanadas and tortilla (photoEuskalKultura.com)]

The pintxos from the Euskaltzaleak Euskaltegi are becoming more famous; there is a large crowd that went to the booth to try these Basque bites (photoEuskalKultura.com)]

[On June 8^th, organized by the Gure Esku Dago movement, there will be a Human Chain between Durango and Iruña-Pamplona, in the Basque Country.  In support of the initiative from the Diaspora, at “Buenos Aires Celebrates,” there was also a human chain while listening to the song Gure Esku-Dago (photoEuskalKultura.com)]

[The human chain went from the main stage to the Plaza de Mayo (photoEuskalKultura.com)]

[To guarantee the presence of the Basque language, Argentinean and Uruguayan students participating in the Euskara Munduan program were in charge of the Basque stand (photoEuskalKultura.com)]

[When organizing the event, all age groups were considered.  The youngest also had a place to play (photoEuskalKultura.com)]

[The origin of names and last names; from where, when, and how the ancestors arrived, where they are on the map…girls at the genealogy stand didn’t get a break all afternoon (photoEuskalKultura.com)]

[As planned, just after noon members of the La Oreja de Van Gogh group from Donostia visited the Euskadi-Basque Country stand.  Along with Aizpea Goenaga, Sara Pagola and the musicians tickets for each one of their upcoming concerts in Argentina were raffled off (photoEuskalKultura.com)]

[After talking at various Basque clubs in Buenos Aires and La Plata, writer Toti Martinez de Lezea was also at the “Buenos Aires Celebrates the Basque Country.” According to her, participating in the festival was one of her main motivations for her trip.  At the Euskadi-Basque Country stand, the writer met her readers, autographed copies of her book and spoke to young and ole alike about Basque mythology (photoEuskalKultura.com)]

[Performances followed one after another on the stage.  Basque traditional instruments came first with albokaris Mauro Telletxea and Iñaki Esquiroz from Euskaltzaleak…see video here (photoEuskalKultura.com)]

[…and then the Ixilik ensemble from the Laurak Bat Basque club. See video here (photoEuskalKultura.com)

More tomorrow