Jon Zuazo, a friend of mine in Munitibar, Bizkaia, just finished renovating his family’s ancestral baserri, Aixabide. He has taken pains to use as much of the original wood as possible, beams that are literally hundreds of years old. In showing me his house, he recounted some of the history, a history that I found […]
Euskal Musika, (Basque-language pop, rock and folk) has flourished for four decades, but the past 10 years have seen a musical and lyrical maturing. With the end of the era dominated by Negu Gorriak, Hertzainak and Itoiz, Basque music searched for a new touchstone identity and came up with a multitude of them. In this […]
Lee Azpiroz sent a photo of his tattoo, a collage of Basque icons. He writes: “Started with the lauburu. Then added the euskadi map, ikurrina background, and the bull to balance the whole thing out. “PS: Need to add “Azpiroz” as a sur name.” Lee’s tattoo, along with all the others, can be seen in […]
A historian’s greatest challenge is to convey the excitement and drama of history. This is especially true for more obscure subjects, as the reader doesn’t already come with some emotional attachment. But this is exactly where Christine Bender excels. By using fiction as her vehicle to explore historical events, Christine is able to delve into […]
Anyone who has visited the Basque Country, or even attended a Basque celebration in the US, knows the central role that food occupies in the culture. Today, the Basque Country is famous for its “new Basque cuisine,” which I did have an opportunity to try at a restaurant in Donosti (and, it was very good). […]
Florence Destin wrote to tell me about the clothing company 64. 64 is the region number of the Atlantic Pyrenees department in southwest France. Their clothing features designs that emphasize those values traditionally associated with the Basques — food, sports, and more. The brand is well known within France, but the company is hoping to […]
Here are a few links I’ve run across that I thought were worth sharing. Pelota is immensely popular in Euskal Herria. Most evenings I was there, a match was being shown on the TVs of most bars. Even though cesta punta — jai alai to the rest of the world — is the most flashy […]
As I mentioned earlier, a couple of weeks ago, I spent a week in Munitibar, the town my dad grew up in and where his brother runs the Herriko Taberna. During that week, something like three people died, including the oldest resident of the town (who was 98). Of course, for each, there was a […]
Ok, maybe not quite what you think. The Aug 30 edition of The Gazette reported on the death of Sam Etcheverry, one of the greatest quarterbacks of the Montreal Alouettes and the Canadian Football League (CFL). He also coached the Alouettes to a championship of the CFL. Sam was born in Carlsbad, NM. What the […]
Koldo San Sebastian is a journalist and writer who has spent his career working in various media on themes of Basque history, including a television documentary on the Spanish Civil War in Euskadi, a book on the history of the Basque Nationalist Party, and another on the Basque exile in America. Koldo is currently writing […]
