I hate peppers. They smell nasty when they are cooking and they taste vile. My dad had literally hundreds of pepper plants in his garden. He would always give me a hard time when I ate his homemade chorizo, which I loved, saying how could I like those when they had peppers in them? When […]
Esther Ciganda doesn’t wait. She doesn’t ask what if. Instead, she makes things happen. Whether that is being Team Leader for Team USA Basque Pelota or fulfilling life-long dreams of moving to the Basque Country and learning Euskara, Esther makes her dreams come true. And, now, she wants to help others do the same by […]
The summer solstice, being the longest day of the year, is an important event in many cultures, marking the changing of seasons. Because of its importance, elaborate rituals and rites have arisen around this date all around around the globe, and the Basque Country is no exception. Many of the pre-Christian elements have been confused […]
Whenever I visit the Basque Country, my entire time ends up being centered around dinner tables abounding with food and drink. I swear I always find 10 pounds that I never manage to lose after each visit. Food and drink are such central parts of Basque life that it is hard to imagine a Basque […]
Miguel Indurain Larraya is recognized as one of the greatest cyclists in the history of cycling. He is one of four people to win five Tours de France (Lance Armstrong‘s victories were stripped when he admitted to doping). Indurain holds the distinction, however, of being the only one to win his five Tours consecutively, winning […]
I first learned about Santiago Ramón y Cajal from Vince Juaristi’s great book Basque Firsts: People Who Changed the World. Ramón y Cajal, a Spanish scientist born in Nafarroa, was the father of modern neuroscience, developing the neuron doctrine of the brain that said the brain was composed of neurons connected by synapses. In his work, […]
Jaialdi is in the books, already 2 weeks past, and I thought I’d share a few photos and moments from the festival. For me and my family, Jaialdi began with a visit to the Basque Block on Wednesday, when we quickly ran into some old friends from our Seattle days. On Thursday, I attended a […]
A while back I found an awesome book that showed the coats-of-arms of most of the towns and villages of Bizkaia. Each town was given a different page, with a drawing of the escudo and some information about the town. I’d always hoped to find something similar for the other provinces, but was never able […]
I received this query way back in June (ugh! I’m so far behind). It describes the efforts of a group of historians and archeologists that are trying to document and save the historic castles of the Basque Country. If you have interest in their project, please leave a comment and I’ll make sure they see […]
1555: Henry II, king of Nafarroa, dies. His father, John III or Jean d’Albret, had been defeated in 1512 by Ferdinand II of Aragon, both of whom had claimed the throne of Nafarroa. After that defeated, that portion of Nafarroa south fo the Pyrenees was annexed by Ferdinand while what became Nafarroa Beherea stayed in […]
