Basque Fact of the Week, History

Basque Fact of the Week: Tota Aznar de Pamplona

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The medieval history of the Basque Country is both fascinating and so convoluted. There are so many marriages back and forth between different families as royals tried to consolidate and expand power that it becomes dizzying. A great example is Tota, or Toda, Aznar of Pamplona. Her skill as a diplomat and in establishing power through marrying her children places her as a central figure in the history of the Basque Country.

Toda de Pamplona, as painted by António de Holanda in 1530. Image from Wikidata.
  • Tota Aznar, or Toda as she was more commonly called, was born in the 9th century – possibly on January 2, 876. She was born into nobility. Her father was Don Aznar Sánchez, Lord of Latraun, and her mother was Doña Oneka. She was the granddaughter of King Fortuño Garcés “the Monk”; as such, she belonged to the Arista dynasty.
  • She married Sancho I of Pamplona, Sancho Garcés, who was of the Ximena dynasty. Thus their marriage united the two most powerful families of Pamplona.
  • Toda was a very skilled diplomat. As one example, she arranged the marriage of her daughter Sancha first to Ordoño II of Asturias. When he died, she arranged the marriage of Sancha with Álvaro Harrameliz, and after he died, with Fernán González, the Count of Castile, bringing the County of Álava as her dowry. She arranged similar marriages for her other daughters, solidifying the position and power of her family.
  • Sancho I died in 925. His brother, Ximeno Garcés (who also was Toda’s sister Sancha’s husband), succeeded him, but also became the guardian of Sancho and Toda’s son García Sánchez I. Ximeno didn’t last long, dying in 931, at which point García became king, but since he was still a minor, Toda became regent and his guardian.
  • The royalty of Pamplona was intertwined with the nearby Muslim rules (Toda was aunt or, more likely cousin, to Caliph Abd-al-Rahman III). In 934, Toda signed a treaty with Abd-al-Rahman III, which helped to cement the rule of her son, but by 937 Toda had already broken her treaty, leading to conflict. In 939, she is noted as having defeated “an innumerable army of Saracens,” saving the king.
  • After García rose to the throne in his own right, Toda becomes less prominent in records. However, by 958 she is noted as ruling her own subkingdom in the areas of Deio and Lizarrara.
  • Her last great feat as a powerful ruler was promoting her grandson, Sancho I of León, known as Sancho the Fat. She enlisted the aid of Abd-ar-Rahman III to cure Sancho’s obesity, which his Jewish physician Hasdai ibn Shaprut said he would do if Toda visited Córdoba, the seat of Abd-ar-Rahman’s power. She did, along with her son and grandson, and this visit proved to be a huge diplomatic event. Sancho was cured and went on to reclaim the throne of León.

A full list of all of Buber’s Basque Facts of the Week can be found in the Archive.

Primary sources: Estornés Lasa, Bernardo. Toda Aznárez de Larraun. Auñamendi Encyclopedia. Available at: https://aunamendi.eusko-ikaskuntza.eus/en/toda-aznarez-de-larraun/ar-139997/; Toda of Pamplona, Wikipedia

Basque Proverb of the Week

Basque Proverb of the Week: Proverb #58

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Bost sosen pupua, eta hamar sosen trapua.

A ten cent bandage for a five cent booboo.

Image generated by Buber using ChatGPT.

These proverbs were collected by Jon Aske. For the full list, along with the origin and interpretation of each proverb, click this link.
Basque Fact of the Week, History

Basque Fact of the Week: The Time Spain Planned to Conquer China with an Army of Basques

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It seems inconceivable today, but in the late 1500s, the rulers of what is now Spain thought they could conquer China and then the rest of Asia with an army of 10,000 to 20,000 soldiers. They thought they could persuade Japan to join them. What’s more, this army was going to be primarily Basque. Leaders often overreach, thinking they are invincible, their ambitious getting the better of themselves (and, unfortunately, all of those around them); but this plan seems even more foolhardy than most.

The stages of the Empresa de China plan. Image from Wikimedia.
  • In the late 1580s, a plan was devised by Spanish leaders to invade China. The goals were to Christianize the nation, plunder its wealth, and establish a base of operations from which Spain could conquer other parts of Asia. There were even plans for Spanish soldiers to mix with Chinese women and to establish encomiendas using local labor, much as they did in the Americas.
  • Versions of this plan had been floated before. Hernán Cortés made such a proposal in 1526. Martin de Rada, one of the first missionaries to visit China, suggested such a plan in 1575, though he did not advocate the use of force, but rather “persuasion and evangelization.” Francisco de Sande, governor of the Philippines from 1575 to 1580, thought a force as small as 4,000-6,000 could take China.
  • The one that actually took hold – the Empresa de China or Chinese Enterprise – was pitched by diplomat Alonzo Sánchez. A Jesuit missionary, Sánchez had been to the Philippines and saw an opportunity to expand Spanish and Christian influence. He was able to get a version of his plan to King Philip II who, with his Council of State, began developing the plan. Amongst others, Basque Juan de Idiáquez y Olazábal helped Sánchez get his plan in front of the king. The Bishop of Manila and another Basque, Domingo de Salazar, also advocated for the plan.
  • Spain reasoned that, because of the ease with which they had conquered the Americas and the Philippines, China would be similarly easy. From a Spanish perspective, China was a wild place which, while densely populated, didn’t have a military spirit. They thought that a small force of some 15,000 soldiers could take China, aided by popular resurrection once the Spanish came.
  • Of the soldiers that were part of the planned contingent, some 12,000 were meant to be Basque. Sánchez made this specific recommendation. There was no reason given for this suggestion, though one can speculate that the great reputation of Basques as navigators – such as Juan Sebastián Elkano, Miguel de López de Legazpi (founder of Manila), Andrés de Urdaneta (López de Legazpi’s navigator who discovered the return route to America from the Philippines), and Martín de Goiti (explorer of the Philippines) – made them desirable for this mission. Other soldiers from Japan and Portugal were also part of the plan.
  • The plan was derailed by the defeat of the Spanish Armada when it tried to invade Britain in 1588 and subsequently abandoned.

A full list of all of Buber’s Basque Facts of the Week can be found in the Archive.

Primary sources: Los 12.000 vizcaínos que debían conquistar China para Felipe II by Javier Muñoz, El Correo; Empresa de China, Wikipedia; El plan más meticuloso y ambicioso de Felipe II para el Imperio Español: conquistar China con ayuda de Japón by Alejandro Alcolea, Xataka

Basque Proverb of the Week

Basque Proverb of the Week: Proverb #57

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Bihotzean dagoena, mihira irten.

What is in one’s heart, comes out of one’s mouth.

Image generated by Buber using ChatGPT.

These proverbs were collected by Jon Aske. For the full list, along with the origin and interpretation of each proverb, click this link.
Basque Fact of the Week, Folklore, History

Basque Fact of the Week: Some Basque Beliefs about Death

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Death and taxes, the only things that can’t be avoided. Death eventually claims us all and it is no wonder then that people develop special beliefs around death. People develop special rituals around those who have died and the handling of their body. In the Basque Country, there are also beliefs and rituals connected with the soul of the dead, both to help them in their journey and to prevent them from being trapped on Earth. Many ancient Basque beliefs and traditions were ultimately either transformed or replaced by Christianity.

The remains of my great great grandmother as her body was being moved to the crypt. You can read about that story here.
  • As might be expected, a serious illness was seen as a presage of death. That said, such illnesses were often attributed to God, as a punishment for sins. Or, alternatively, as the result of the evil eye or malevolent spirits that constantly swarmed everywhere, spreading disease and agony. And, as I’ve written about before, various animals also foretold death.
  • When someone died, their eyes and mouth had to be closed quickly, otherwise they might draw others to their “side,” or to the realm of the dead.
  • It was believed that demons, evil spirits, or even the devil himself lurked around the death bed and could tempt people to say blasphemous things. In Christian times, this led some people to putting into their will language that protected them: “And if, through weakness, the severity of my illness, or the persuasion of the evil enemy, I should say or utter anything against the Holy Faith, I hereby renounce it and declare that it is not, nor will it ever be, my intention, but rather to always remain in the Holy Faith…”
  • While a sudden death was taken to be a sign of damnation, of God not giving the person time to prepare, a prolonged death was also viewed negatively. In some places, an oil lamp was lit and it was thought that the person would die when the oil ran out. Or if someone continued to suffer, it was because their soul was trapped and they couldn’t escape the room, so a window might be opened.
  • When someone was deathly ill, if a domestic animal died (a cow in Bermeo, a hen in Gorozika), it was taken as a good sign, as the animal took the place of the person.
  • When someone had died, it was the task of the women to prepare the corpse. In old times, the body was simply wrapped in a sheet or shroud, called a hil-mihise – people were not buried in a coffin. People would make their own shrouds, many years in advance of their own death, in preparation.
  • Another ancient tradition was tying the body’s hands and feet with rope, more recently with ribbons. Originally, this may have been done to restrict the dead from returning as an apparition.
  • As in many places, bodies were buried with items. Today these are often religious in nature – crucifixes or rosaries. However, in past times, weapons and coins might have been buried with the dead. In any case, these items were thought to be useful for the dead in the afterlife.
  • While the body was being prepared and was on display in the house, in some places mirrors were covered with a black cloth. It was thought that if one looked into a mirror with the body in the house, they might see witches or even the dead him or herself.
  • Finally, death was associated with impurity. So, when someone died, their mattress would be burned. Or a bundle of straw was burned while a prayer was recited. In some places, the stables also had to be purified. And yet in others brandy and herbs were burned.

A full list of all of Buber’s Basque Facts of the Week can be found in the Archive.

Primary sources: Madariaga Orbea, Juan. Muerte. Auñamendi Encyclopedia. Available at: https://aunamendi.eusko-ikaskuntza.eus/en/muerte/ar-82465/

Basque Proverb of the Week

Basque Proverb of the Week: Proverb #56

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Bi etxetako txakurra, goseak jan.

A dog which belongs to two homes dies of hunger.

Image generated by Buber using ChatGPT.

These proverbs were collected by Jon Aske. For the full list, along with the origin and interpretation of each proverb, click this link.
Basque Fact of the Week, Euskadi, History

Basque Fact of the Week: The Urberuaga Spa of Bizkaia

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This one may be of interest to only me…

Driving along the highways in the heart of Bizkaia, there is a sign that appears on the side of the road that simply says Urberuaga, but there is nothing really there. It turns out that there used to be a quite renowned spa in the area, as the naturally thermal and gaseous waters were known to promote good health. It is an interesting story of the rise and demise of a once-prominent institution.

An aerial view of the Urberuaga spa. Image from the blog of Idoia Goiti.
  • The name Urberuaga, and by extension Uberuaga, comes from the words ur (water) + bero (hot) + aga (place of), thus meaning place of hot water or hot springs.
  • Urberuaga de Ubilla is a neighborhood of Markina-Xemein, situated between the mountains Itoñamendi and Ekarrein, straddling the banks of the Artibai River. The neighborhood, which officially got its name in 1980, has never had more than a few hundred people.
  • The spa of Urberuaga de Ubilla was built between the years of 1870 and 1872. The thermal waters, distinct from other springs, had long been known to have medicinal properties, primarily for digestive and urinary issues. In fact, the waters were first mentioned in the 16th century. People had learned about the medicinal properties of the water and came to the area to drink it. Before the spa was built, a bathhouse was constructed in 1825.
  • The spa closed in 1872 because of war, but reopened and expanded: in 1879, Los Arcos, the first grand building, was erected; in 1882, the even larger Casa Francesa was built; and, in 1888, the Casino was constructed. The spa boasted, amongst other things, a room where sprayed water could be breathed, an elegant hall with nickel-plated fixtures, and mosaic floors that offered a touch of hygiene and elegance. The spa could accommodate 350 guests and had two large dining halls that could hold 90 and 130 people, respectively.
  • The waters had a temperature of about 80 degrees Fahrenheit. The spa consisted of three springs – Santa Águeda, San Juan Bautista, and San Justo – with a flow of about 2.5 gallons per second. The water itself was full of bicarbonate and nitrogen gas which provided some of its beneficial properties. In fact, the quantity of nitrogen gas was quite high which is part of what made these waters unique.
  • In 1983, the spa was destroyed by a series of floods. After the spa was closed, they continued to bottle the mineral waters to sell but that was abandoned in 1993. There were some short-lived plans to construct a hotel on the site of the spa, but those were also ultimately abandoned. Today, the site is overgrown with vegetation and barely recognizable. A colony of bats has made the derelict buildings its home.
  • There is a second Urberuaga spa, this one in Algzola, Elgoibar, Gipuzkoa. Built around 1846 on the grounds of the old farmhouse Etxe Zuria, it closed in 1976, though the site continues to bottle the water.

A full list of all of Buber’s Basque Facts of the Week can be found in the Archive.

Primary sources: UBILLA-URBERUAGA. Auñamendi Encyclopedia. Available at: https://aunamendi.eusko-ikaskuntza.eus/en/ubilla-urberuaga/ar-133553/;URBERUAGA DE UBILLA, Balneario de. Auñamendi Encyclopedia. Available at: https://aunamendi.eusko-ikaskuntza.eus/en/urberuaga-de-ubilla-balneario-de/ar-136282/; Urberuaga, el Balneario abandonado (Markina) by Gullivervan; El agua del balneario de Urberuaga podría abastecer a los 7.800 vecinos del Artibai by Mirari Artime, El Correo; El balneario abandonado de Urberuaga, Piensa en un lugar; URBERUAGA, Balneario de. Enciclopedia Auñamendi. Available at: https://aunamendi.eusko-ikaskuntza.eus/es/urberuaga-balneario-de/ar-136281/; Urberuaga de Ubilla, Estudio de sus aguas nitrogenadas by Doctor Don José Hernández Silva, Madrid, Imprenta de Ricardo Rojas, 1895

Fighting Basques

We Must Remember Them: WWII Veteran Regina Bastida, 104, Reflects on Memory and Service

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by Sancho de Beurko Association

A centenarian World War II veteran reflects on memory, sacrifice, and the effort to build the National Basque WWII Veterans Memorial in Gardnerville, Nevada.

At 104 years old, Regina “Reggie” Bastida is among the last living World War II veterans of Basque origin — and one of the few remaining voices of the generation that helped define modern America.

Born in Boise, Idaho in 1922 to Basque immigrant parents, Regina served with the U.S. Army Nurse Corps during World War II and belongs to the generation often called the “Greatest Generation.” Their service helped defend the democratic values that continue to shape the United States today.

In a recently-recorded interview in Boise, Regina shared a message that captures both the spirit of her generation and the purpose behind the National Basque WWII Veterans Memorial:

“We want to remember our young men that went to war and gave their lives for our country.”
— Second Lieutenant Regina “Reggie” Bastida
U.S. Army Nurse Corps

Her words remind us that remembrance is not only about the past — it is about the civic principles her generation stood for: duty, sacrifice, service, and democracy. 

After more than a decade of research, the nonprofit homeland history association Sancho de Beurko has identified over 2,150 men and women of Basque descent who served during World War II across the United States and abroad. In many ways, their story reflects a familiar American narrative: immigrants — some of them not yet citizens — and the sons and daughters of immigrant families who stepped forward to serve both their country of adoption and the country of their birth during one of the defining moments of the twentieth century. 

Today, the project has reached an important milestone. The Town of Gardnerville, Nevada, has designated a site in Heritage Park for the memorial, and a conceptual design has been completed. The goal is to dedicate the memorial before the end of 2026, ensuring that the service of this generation is honored while their voices can still guide us.

Conceptual rendering of the National Basque WWII Veterans Memorial proposed for Heritage Park in Gardnerville, Nevada.

“Echoes of two wars, 1936-1945” aims to disseminate the stories of those Basques and Navarrese who participated in two of the warfare events that defined the future of much of the 20th century. With this blog, the intention of the Sancho de Beurko Association is to rescue from anonymity the thousands of people who constitute the backbone of the historical memory of the Basque and Navarre communities, on both sides of the Pyrenees, and their diasporas of emigrants and descendants, with a primary emphasis on the United States, during the period from 1936 to 1945.

THE AUTHORS
Guillermo Tabernilla is a researcher and founder of the Sancho de Beurko Association, a non-profit organization that studies the history of the Basques and Navarrese from both sides of the Pyrenees in the Spanish Civil War and in World War II. He is currently their secretary and community manager. He is also editor of the digital magazine Saibigain. Between 2008 and 2016 he directed the catalog of the “Iron Belt” for the Heritage Directorate of the Basque Government and is, together with Pedro J. Oiarzabal, principal investigator of the Fighting Basques Project, a memory project on the Basques and Navarrese in the Second World War in collaboration with the federation of Basque Organizations of North America.

Pedro J. Oiarzabal is a Doctor in Political Science-Basque Studies, granted by the University of Nevada, Reno (USA). For two decades, his work has focused on research and consulting on public policies (citizenship abroad and return), diasporas and new technologies, and social and historical memory (oral history, migration and exile), with special emphasis on the Basque case. He is the author of more than twenty publications. He has authored the blog “Basque Identity 2.0” by EITB and “Diaspora Bizia” by EuskalKultura.eus. On Twitter @Oiarzabal.

Josu M. Aguirregabiria is a researcher and founder of the Sancho de Beurko Association and is currently its president. A specialist in the Civil War in Álava, he is the author of several publications related to this topic, among which “La batalla de Villarreal de Álava” (2015) y “Seis días de guerra en el frente de Álava. Comienza la ofensiva de Mola” (2018) stand out.

The National Basque WWII Veterans Memorial is envisioned as the first and only national monument in the United States dedicated exclusively to Basque-American World War II veterans. More importantly, it is intended as a civic space where future generations can reflect on the values that Regina’s generation embodied.

Honoring this generation is also a race against time. 

Projects like this are never the work of a single organization or community. They are built through the commitment of people who believe that remembrance matters.

For those who feel moved by Regina’s message, there are many ways to help bring this tribute to life  — whether by supporting the project directly, sharing its story, or helping connect it with others who care about preserving this chapter of American history.

Those who wish to support the Memorial may do so through our secure online donation page:

https://my.cheddarup.com/c/national-basque-wwii-veterans-memorial/items

Because as Regina reminds us, the purpose is simple:

We must remember them.

If you are a relative of a Basque WWII veteran and you would like to find out if he or she is on the list, please contact the project researchers: sanchobeurko@gmail.com

Basque Proverb of the Week

Basque Proverb of the Week: Proverb #55

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Beti ordu duena, beti berandu heldu dena.

The one with time to spare is always the one who arrives late.

Image generated by Buber using ChatGPT.

These proverbs were collected by Jon Aske. For the full list, along with the origin and interpretation of each proverb, click this link.
Basque Fact of the Week, Euskadi, Folklore

Basque Fact of the Week: Sugegorri, the Viper of the Basque Country

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My mom tells a story of my dad where they were out in the countryside working, spending the night camping in the field. Somehow, my dad became aware of a rattlesnake nearby and freaked out, dousing the whole area with gas and lighting it on fire to kill the snake. My mom said it was because he was deathly afraid of snakes because of a “red snake” he knew about in the Basque Country.

I admit, I was a bit skeptical about this existence of this “red snake,” so I asked, and indeed it is a thing: the sugegorri – literally “red snake” – is a viper native to the Basque Country.

A collection of sugegorriak. Image from Asociación Herpetológica Española.
  • There are three types of vipers that are native to the Basque Country and, more generally, the Atlantic coastal regions nearby: the Cantabrian viper (Vipera seoanei), on the Atlantic side; the aspis viper (Vipera aspis aspis), in the Pyrenees themselves; and the Lataste viper (Vipera latastei), in the south. The latter is rare.
  • Sugegorri – literally red snake – is both a general term for a class of vipers and more specifically to the Cantabrian viper, though there are two subspecies of snakes that fall in this class: Vipera seoanei seoanei and Vipera seoanei cantabrica.
  • The sugegorri is polymorphic, meaning it can take on various colors and patterns. Typically, males, which can be smaller than females, are white and blue-barred, with strong black markings. Females are brown or reddish. The belly is blue or black; sometimes with white spots. The tail is yellow, orange and red underneath. There are some very dark, almost black, specimens.
  • Various beliefs were associated with snakes and, more specifically, vipers in the Basque Country. For example, in Bedaroa, they thought that a viper would return to the scene of the crime, so to speak, after biting someone, so the people would go to the spot the next day to kill it. In places like Karrantza, Sara, and Gernika, they thought that vipers didn’t bite, but rather stung people with their tongues. The gathering and/or hiding of certain herbs could protect against snake attacks. Or one should carry garlic, but never cheese.
  • Some believed that the common slow worm, a legless lizard, protected men from snakes by warning them when they were sleeping in the countryside. Sometimes they would do this by wiggling their tail in the sleeping man’s ear. However, they would only warn men, whom they considered friends – they didn’t warn women.
  • The bite of the viper was considered very dangerous, with people in Erroibar saying that if you were bit by a viper, you would die within an hour.
  • An interesting side note… in Basque, the verb “to die” is hil. However, in some places, for snakes and other animals, other words are used to say “to die.” Examples include akaatu (used for harmful animals), akabau, galdu (used for the violent death of a snake, literally meaning lost), kalitu, and amaitu (meaning finished).
  • The ultimate snake is the herensuge. Some beliefs suggest that all snakes descend from the herensuge. In some places, it was thought that vipers came from snakes and could eventually turn into a dragon.

A full list of all of Buber’s Basque Facts of the Week can be found in the Archive.

Primary sources: Most are linked directly in the post.