“There are at least two things that can clearly be attributed to Basque ingenuity: the Society of Jesus and the Republic of Chile.” – Miguel de Unamuno When we think about Basque emigration and the Basque diaspora, places like Argentina and Idaho are the first to come to mind. But, as I recently learned, Chile […]
The theme of the Zortziak Bat symposium that was held during Jaialdi was Elkarrekin Arraunean, or “Rowing Together,” highlighting the contributions of so many people that have helped promote and support the Basque language and culture. Seven people were honored for their lifetime of effort – I was pleased to be one of those recognized. […]
In celebration of Basque Diaspora Day 2025, which on Monday, September 8 in Markina, Bizkaia, will recognize the contribution of pelota to the Diaspora, the authors of this blog publish the previously untold story of the jai-alai player from Eibar, Agustín Guisasola, a World War II veteran with the United States Army. This year, the International […]
Tomorrow, September 8, the anniversary of Juan Sebastián Elcano‘s circumnavigation of the globe, is the International Day of the Basque Diaspora. This day is meant to highlight the contributions the Basque diaspora have made to Basque culture and Basque society. The Basque Government has made an explicit effort to strengthen connections and relations with the diaspora, […]
Below we publish the chronicle of the latest trip of Dr. Pedro J. Oiarzabal – co-author of this blog and co-principal investigator of “Fighting Basques: Memory of World War II” – to the United States. His trip’s goals were two-fold: to disseminate the nearly-final results of the research, on the tenth anniversary of the projects […]
One of the best memories I will carry forward from Jaialdi was meeting so much extended family. Boise is full of Uberuagas, but as a kid, I barely knew they all even existed. For reasons I’ll never know, my dad never really interacted with them – perhaps they were too distant of family and he […]
Basque names have a way of jumping out at you. I was recently attending a workshop at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, situated on the Stanford University campus, when someone mentioned the Arrillaga rec center. “Arrillaga?” I thought to myself. “Has to be Basque.” Sure enough, John Arrillaga, one of Stanford’s biggest supporters ever, was […]
The Basque diaspora – those Basques that have found themselves for a multitude of reasons living and building lives outside of the Basque Country – have made significant contributions to the continued health and prosperity of Basque culture. Inspired by the motto Zazpiak Bat – the seven are one – the phrase Zortziak Bat has […]
When I wrote about the various cities of Durango a while back, that opened a thread of the Basque history of Mexico and the southwest United States that is ripe for further exploration. That history is reflected in so many place names of the region. Not only are cities like Durango named after their Basque […]
Maybe you’ve heard that some politicians in Nevada are trying again to make Picon Punch the official state cocktail. It’s not the first time, but that Ferino, a distillery in Reno, is making their own version of Amer Picon, the central ingredient that gives the Punch its distinct flavor, is perhaps going to help the […]
