Basques played a significant role in the exploration and conquest of the Americas. Lope Agirre is perhaps one of the most notorious of those Basques. Originally from the province of Gipuzkoa, he was enticed by the potential riches the Americas promised. He rose to power and even tried to declare war with and independence from […]
What is it about getting a little older where we suddenly notice the birds around us? Where we more than notice them, we become fascinated with them and we watch them? If you are an avid bird watcher, or even if you aren’t but you just like to see the multicolored plumage once in a […]
My mom’s dad’s parents were both from the Basque Country. Blas Telleria was from Mutiloa, Gipuzkoa while Ines Eiguren was from Lekeitio, Bizkaia. They met in Jordan Valley, Oregon, where they had both made their way to find a better life. Blas was born in 1877. Mutiloa is a very small town, even smaller than […]
So many of the Basques that immigrated to the United States made a huge and lasting mark on their local communities. We are all familiar with the Basque communities of Boise and San Francisco, and the men and women who built them. However, the Basque influence reaches so much further. Domingo Bastanchury, sometimes called the […]
The Basque newspaper Deia (the oldest Basque newspaper) has been running a series of articles in their Contando Historias section about Basque words and phrases, calling out the most beautiful, the oldest, and the most common Basque words used in daily life. Such lists are always subjective and Deia has resorted to using artificial intelligence […]
When our daughter was born, we decided that she would call me aita, and she does, which I think is supercool. It sometimes causes a bit of confusion, as some of her friends think that’s my actual name, it being so foreign to their ears. But I wouldn’t give it up for the world. However, […]
The Basque Country is remarkable for how lush it is – green pine trees cover the landscape. But, did you know that those pines aren’t native to the Basque Country? They were brought from California by Carlos Adán de Yarza. Carlos was but one in a long line of Adán de Yarzas that made their […]