Last week I wrote about the Valley of Aran, which has historical and linguistic connections to the Basque Country. In the Valley of Aran, the local language is Occitan, which is related to Gascon, which has its own connections to Euskara. In fact, the words Gascon and Basque come from the same Latin root. A […]
The Val d’Aran, or Valley of Aran, lies in the northwest corner of Catalunya. As such, it is a bit of an outlier. It is the only part of Catalunya that sits on the northern side of the Pyrenees. It has its own language, Aranese, that is co-official with Spanish and Catalan. The region also […]
The New Fueros of Bizkaia were approved in 1526 – 500 years ago this year. These fueros codified the customs and practices of the people of Bizkaia – it didn’t establish any new laws per se, but formalized those that already existed. Elixabete Piñol Olaeta looked back at how specifically women were mentioned in those […]
I’m a metalhead. I like my music loud, aggressive, and angry. However, I have a soft spot for anything Basque, including Ravel. Perhaps the only classical CD I’ve ever owned was a compilation of some of Ravel’s greatest pieces, including Boléro. A full list of all of Buber’s Basque Facts of the Week can be […]
Hard times brings out the best and worst in people, pushing them in directions they may never have ever imagined. Such is the case of Txomin Letamendi. An extremely talented musician, the Spanish Civil War and its aftermath pushed him to become first a soldier and then a spy for the Basque government in exile, […]
People in the Basque Country are inherently multilingual. Surrounded by Spanish and French, and with their own language Euskara, many also learn English. A recent study has revealed that being multilingual, especially if you speak four languages, has a tremendous benefit for your brain, making it up to thirteen years younger than people who only […]
During tough times, people find a way. The aftermath of the Spanish Civil War was brutal for many. In the Basque Country, and beyond, the resulting food shortages led enterprising folks to devise new ways to make and deliver food. One curious – to me – example is the wandering noodle men or fideogile ibiltariak. […]
I remember my dad having a bota bag around. I don’t remember him using it much, but it was one of the few things from the “old country” that he had around the house. Maybe when he was a sheepherder, he used it more – I don’t know. But, for me as a child, it […]
This one is a bit technical and maybe the Basque connection is a little loose, but (nerd alert!) I think this is fascinating. Crowd dynamics or simulation is a field in which scientists try to understand how collections of people move and how that movement changes when conditions change. Think of crowds and how they […]
With the World Cup, the world is ablaze with soccer fever. With several premier teams, the Basque Country has a strong association with soccer. There are a number of Basque players participating in the World Cup as part of the national teams of Spain, Ghana, Mexico, and Japan – Euskal Kazeta has a nice writeup […]