All posts by buber

Basque Fact of the Week: The Great Basque Anthropologist, Ethnologist, and Historian Julio Caro Baroja

It hasn’t been all that long that Basque studies started delving into Basque prehistory and the myths and legends that shaped the Basque world view. José Miguel de Barandiaran Ayerbe was a pioneer in these efforts, but he didn’t work alone and his student, Julio Caro Baroja – the nephew of one of the greatest […]

The Adventures of Maite and Kepa: Part 123

Not sure if anyone missed this since I didn’t get a chance to post last week, but just in case, here is an extra long installment… 🙂 De Lancre stood in the shattered door frame, his face glowing in a sickly pale blue light as shadows danced across his features. His hands, held up and […]

Basque Fact of the Week: José Miguel de Barandiaran Ayerbe, the Great Patriarch of Basque Culture

The Basques converted to Christianity relatively late compared to many of their neighbors, and before that they had a complex and fascinating mythology that involved a myriad of creatures and powerful beings that impacted the daily life of the people dotting the Basque coast. Much of what we know about that mythology – and Basque […]

Basque Fact of the Week: Lamiak, the Basque Mermaids and Nymphs

Mythical creatures abound in Basque folklore, decorating the Basque countryside, from powerful god-like beings like Mari and Sugaar to more “common” creatures like Tartalo and Basajaun, creatures people might encounter as they go about their daily business. The lamiak are another such being. Living in the streams and ponds of Euskal Herria, their beauty – […]

The Adventures of Maite and Kepa: Part 122

De Lancre stood at the end of the hall. His fingers started crackling with small bolts of lightning that illuminated his face from below, giving him an eerie glow.  “Oh sh!t!” said Kepa. “I’ve seen this movie…” Lightning flew from De Lancre’s fingertips and across the walls and ceiling as it marched down the hallway […]

Basque Fact of the Week: Winnemucca, Nevada, the Most Basque Town in the United States

The United States has a thriving Basque community, driven primarily, though not exclusively, by many years of immigration to the US West. California is the state that the most Basques call home while Boise, Idaho, is the city with the largest number of Basques. However, it is tiny Winnemucca in northern Nevada – with only […]

The Adventures of Maite and Kepa: Part 121

De Lancre’s suite was at the top of the tower and it took Kepa and Latxe a long time make their way up. The nanobots were efficient at making stairs and openings for them where none had existed before, but the two would-be rescuers were extra cautious after their encounter with the security guard and […]

Basque Fact of the Week: The Mondragón Corporation

I have hesitated to do a Fact on the Mondragón Corporation, the world-renowned cooperative in the heart of Gipuzkoa, simply because I didn’t think I could do it justice. It’s just felt too big and important that, I admit, I was a bit intimidated. However, The New Yorker recently did a nice piece on what […]

Francisco Carriedo???

Hey friends of Buber’s Basque Page! I got a query about Francisco Carriedo and if I knew anything about the man. He was a military officer who served as Capitan General of the Philippines back in early 1700s. He was the benefactor who supported the creation of Manila’s water system. But, that’s all I could […]

The Adventures of Maite and Kepa: Part 120

Kepa watched as Latxe’s fingers swiped around on the surface of her tablet, trying to figure out what the strokes might mean, but they were incomprehensible to him. She might as well have been waving her hands in the air, casting some kind of magic spell, for all it meant to him. When she was […]