Paul Etxeberri alerted me to the .eus campaign to create a Top Level Domain for the Basque Country.  From puntueus.org, the website promoting this effort:

“An endangered language will progress if its speakers can make use of electronic technology”
David Crystal [ Cambridge University, 2004 ]

“languages without social prestige will disappear”
Amadeu Abril i Abril [ .cat domain ]

The Basque language, Euskara, faces a new challenge: creating its own name on the Internet. In this virtual space, both the existence of something as well as its name go hand in hand. Therefore, something unnamed simply does not exist. And that is the goal that the Community of the Basque Language and Culture [EEKK, according to its initials in Euskara] wants to achieve: the creation of a symbol that allows its international recognition in the virtual space of the Internet: the .EUS domain.

This is why we have started the PuntuEus Association: in order to assure and control .EUS domain creation process.

As many of you might already know, the Boise Basque Museum and Cultural Center, with help from the Basque Government, has been working on a project to highlight the Basques’ contributions to the history and settlement of the United States.  I’ve received a number of recent messages updating me on the status of the project, which is that the exhibit is now on display at the Boise Basque Museum and will soon move to the Ellis Island National Monument Museum.

Entitled “Hidden in Plain Sight: the Basques“, the exhibit will be at Ellis Island from February to May.  It will return to Boise for Jaialdi and will become a feature exhibit at the Basque Museum in Boise.  In the words of the website, the exhibit explores the language, customs, traditions and values of the Basque people as well as the allure that America held for them. Hidden in Plain Sight will recount the compelling historical journey of the of Basque men, women and children who immigrated in the early 20th Century from the Basque regions of France and Spain to the United States.

The exhibit aims to both recognize and demonstrate the history of Basques throughout the United States.  The Basques have played a large role in many areas, but their actions have often been in the background, hidden if you will.  The exhibit hopes to show the greater populace the part the Basques have played in shaping the US.

If you are interested in contributing to the project, there is a form for doing so on the website.

A couple of links I’ve been sent or found in wanderings of the web.

First, Louis Arriaga Jr has a fascinating story of misunderstandings and miscarriage of justice (even one of the sentencing judges felt this way, but couldn’t do anything about it).  Clearly, Arriaga is of Basque descent, though his connections to Spain are somewhat distant.  He has a site devoted to his story, but a summary of it can be found in this Phoenix New Times article.

Mugalari means “someone who crosses boarders”, a reference to the smugglers who work across the French-Spanish border.  Mugalari is also the name of a new blog, a blog devoted to showing you “other” aspects of the Basque Country, not necessarily those that would show up in a guide book.  Mugalari has traveled himself extensively and this blog is his attempt to do for the Basque Country what would have been nice for him in other parts of the world.

And speaking of visiting the Basque Country, the region of Debagoiena, which includes the famous University of Onati as well as the shrine Arantzazu, has a website devoted to tourism in the area. This includes guides, photos, and information about hotels and more to help you in your visit to the heart of Gipuzkoa.

I ran into this next site just searching for Basque images on Google.  It is amazing what you find sometimes.  I’ve often been asked, especially by adherents of the Society for Creative Anachronism, what the Basque dress of the Middle Ages was.  It’s hard to find much about that in English, though I guess I would think there is quite a bit in Spanish and Basque.  In any case, this site has quite a few images devoted to the dress of Basques from that era.  Some very interesting images.

Finally, the Basque Country, like the UK and other parts of Europe, was recently hit by some winter weather, and this blog of EiTB captures some of the resulting spectacular scenery, including this image of a snow-covered La Concha.  The Basque Country looks very different in white than it does in the typical green we are more familiar with, though just as striking and beautiful.

I was sent a link to this site, http://hendaye.over-blog.net/, which has a number of videos of the ocean and more in the Basque Country.  It is in French, so I don’t understand much of what is written, but I thought people might enjoy it.

About 6 years ago, Egunkaria, then the only daily newspaper published fully in Basque, was shut down on suspicions of ties to terrorists.  Between then and now, no trials had occurred and it was thought that essentially the matter had been dropped.  However, now, 6 years later, those who worked at Egunkaria are indeed being tried, including Martxelo Otamendi, the editor of the newspaper.

EgunkariaLibre is a site that has two purposes: to support those being put on trial as well as disseminate news about the happenings surrounding Egunkaria, it’s shut down, and the people who worked there.

These events have reached even those Basques living in the United States.  This article in the Idaho Statesman describes how Otamendi previously visited the US to report on, other things, the Idaho legislature’s non-binding memorial supporting the Basque Country’s right for self-determination.  He stayed with Dave Bieter, now the mayor of Boise.

This was the second such newspaper shut down by Spain.  Before, Egin was also shut down.  As was said by Paddy Woodworth in that article, author of The Basque Country: A Cultural History:

“I believe that if there are serious charges against a medium of communication, sufficient to justify the precautionary measure of closing it down, they should be heard within weeks, not years,” he said. “Otherwise the state is very open to charges of suppressing press freedom.”

Delphine Pontvieux, a member of the forum, has just released her novel ETA: Estimated Time of Arrest…

After participating in a pro-separatist march that turned violent in January of 1992, 21-year-old Lorenzo Lartaun Izcoa is wrongly charged with the fatal bombing of a police station in his home town. Irun is a small city located in the heart of the Basque country, trapped between France and Spain, and struggling for independence. Lartaun finds himself on the Spanish Secret Service’s “most wanted” list, branded an active member of the Basque terrorist group ETA.

He has no choice but to flee his country.

Two years later, Lartaun’s childhood friend bursts back into his life. In exchange for a “small favor,” he offers him a passport and the chance to return to Europe under a new identity. Lartaun seizes the opportunity.

…WRONG TIME

Back in Europe, hiding away in a commune in the French Pyrenees Mountains, Lartaun meets Faustine, a young French environmentalist. As their relationship renews his belief in a future worth fighting for, Lartaun realizes, albeit too late, that the favor he owes his friend is not so “small” after all.

FREEDOM COMES AT A STEEP PRICE
HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO TO PROTECT YOURS?

Interior art is by Guillermo Zubiaga, who was interviewed on this site back in 2007.

More information can be found on Delphine’s site www.missnyet.com.

Jose Antonio Alcayaga III just posted this link on Facebook and it seemed like a great one to share.  Badok has a relatively large selection of Basque music available for online listening and I understand that songs can be downloaded in mp3 format.

This seems like a great way to explore Basque music.  It looks like there is a large range of styles, from folk like Oskorri to metal bands such as Su Ta Gar.  And the artists seem to span a range of time, including classics from Kortatu.  Not everything is on here, as I don’t see any Negu Gorriak for example, but there is still a large number of groups to explore.

Thanks for sharing Jose!

Pedro Oiarzabal, a newly minted researcher at the University of Deusto in Bilbao, has spent his young career focused on issues of Basque identity around the world.  His newest book is Gardeners of Identity: Basques in the San Francisco Bay Area, published by the Center for Basque Studies at the University of Nevada, Reno.  (Incidentally, the Center’s bookstore is now online.)

This new book brings attention to the Basque community in northern California.  As described in the cover excerpt:

For many out-of-town visitors, San Franciscans, and Basques throughout the American West the book will bring back fond memories of many of the Basque inns, restaurants, bars and cafés that for the most have vanished from today’s city landscape. However, these fine establishments have not entirely disappeared from their memories and pages of history as illustrated in this book. For others, the book will open a colorful window into the history of some of the most singular and oldest inhabitants of San Francisco. It depicts the Bay Area Basque cultural, linguistic, and religious traditions in a superb manner.

Zorionak Pedro!

The full press release follows: (more…)

Florence Destin wrote to tell me about the clothing company 64.  64 is the region number of the Atlantic Pyrenees department in southwest France.  Their clothing features designs that emphasize those values traditionally associated with the Basques — food, sports, and more.  The brand is well known within France, but the company is hoping to expand to other markets.  Hence, Ms. Destin, who is responsible for e-marketing for the company, contacted me.  They have some particularly cute items for kids.

Here are a few links I’ve run across that I thought were worth sharing.

Pelota is immensely popular in Euskal Herria.  Most evenings I was there, a match was being shown on the TVs of most bars.  Even though cesta punta — jai alai to the rest of the world — is the most flashy version of pelota, the most popular within the Basque Country is pelota mano — hand ball.  Every match I saw on TV was mano.  It is amazing to think about the punishment these guys do to their hands.  In any case, Fronton is a site that is trying to bring “a game with centuries of traditions to a new millenuim.” They have news, rankings, videos, forums, and more.  If you are a pelota junky, or just want to learn more about the sport, this is the site for you.

I’m not one for hard alcohol — simply just don’t like the taste — so I have never tried a Picon punch.  However, this article in The Atlantic uses Picon punch as the context to describe a bit of Basque history and the Basque way of life in the western US.  According to the article, Picon punch isn’t what it used to be, mostly because the Amer Picon from which it was made is no longer available in the US.

Finally, this site describes a woodcut purchased by the website developer of a scene depicting Basques working on their catch after a whale hunt.  What really caught the eye of the writer, however, is the presence of a bagpipe player.  The Basques are known for lots of things, but playing the bagpipes is not necessarily one of them.  The bagpipes, within Iberia, are typically associated with the Gallegos.  But, the woodcut is from the late 1500s and the author is speculating that maybe the Basques did play the bagpipes.  Does anyone know?