All posts by buber

Basque Fact of the Week, Euskadi, History

Basque Fact of the Week: Oldest Known Tools Made of Whale Bone Found in the Bay of Biscay

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Basques have long been associated with whaling. Records as far back as 670 highlight the importance that whale hunting was to the Basque economy and their way of life. However, the people that inhabited the region we now know as the Basque Country used resources from whales even earlier, many millennia earlier. New research has […]

Basque Fact of the Week, Euskadi

Basque Fact of the Week: Origin of the Motto Zazpiak Bat

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The motto Zazpiak Bat – or the equation 4+3=1 – is a common way to express the unity of the seven historical Basque provinces. The Basque coat-of-arms is called zazpiak bat, but the phrase means more than just the coat-of-arms. It expresses the common cultural and historical legacy of Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa, Araba, Nafarroa, Zuberoa, Lapurdi, […]

Remembering Dad

Remembering Dad by Telling His Stories

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Today is dad’s birthday. He would have turned 81 today. I miss you, dad. Dad came to the United States when he was 18. Like many immigrants, particularly those who came so young, he didn’t have many hobbies. Well, none that I know of. Before he came to the United States, he had been working […]

Basque Fact of the Week, Euskadi, Fiestas

Basque Fact of the Week: The Fiestas of the White Virgin

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The Basque Country is full of colorful festivals and each city and town has their own special fiesta. Even towns as small as Munitibar – less than 500 people – have a big fiesta on their saint’s day, with the plaza full of people dancing to live music. Vitoria-Gasteiz, the political capital of the Basque […]

Basque Proverb of the Week

Basque Proverb of the Week: Proverb #16

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Alferrik da, ura joan eta gero, presa egitea. It is useless to hurry once the water has already run by.

Basque Fact of the Week, Euskadi

Basque Fact of the Week: Txikiteo

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Wandering the streets, friends in tow, hopping from bar to bar, getting a bit of a drink and a pintxo – the tradition of the txikiteo. One of my favorite things to do in the Basque Country, txikiteo is the epitome of Basque social life. It’s a perfect way to spend time with your koadrila […]

Basque Proverb of the Week

Basque Proverb of the Week: Proverb #15

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Alferrarentzat jana eta langilearentzat lana, ez da inoiz faltako. There is never a lack of food for the lazy person, nor of work for the industrious.