Before we got lunch at the txoko, we passed by the town plaza. It is always a magical time for me, as people are wandering the town and I’ve spent enough time there that I recognize so many faces, and they recognize me. I don’t always know everyone’s names, but there is just something special […]
Happy Mother’s Day (at least in the United States)! Today marks the 22nd edition of the Zegama-Aizkorri Mendi Maratoia – the Mountain Marathon of Zegama-Aizkorri. Part of the Golden Trail World Series, this marathon takes runners through the mountains surrounding the town of Zegama – in particular, passing over the Aizkorri massif. Noted for the […]
Every year in April, bicycling dominates the Basque Country as the Euskal Herriko Itzulia – the Tour of the Basque Country – brings riders from all over the world to compete for the txapela. The 2023 edition just concluded, taking riders through six stages that started in Vitoria-Gasteiz and passed through Labastidia, Leitza, Santurtzi, Amorebieta-Etxano […]
Rivalries in sports transcend the games themselves. The Yankees and Red Socks. Real Madrid and Barcelona. The Celtics and Lakers. The Huskies and Cougars. They become part of the local identity, and beating your rival is almost more important than winning the championship. In the Basque Country, one of the biggest rivalries is between Athletic […]
Jai alai has been called the world’s fastest sports game and, indeed, the fastest clocked ball, at 188 miles per hour, is from a jai alai player (though golf balls have been clocked at over 217 miles per hour). Since 1920, at least four players have died from being hit by the ball, or pelota. […]
While the Basques aren’t the first and only people to play ball games, they have made their own unique imprint on this versatile sport. Pelota a mano, or handball, is the most popular version played today in the Basque Country – when my aunt and uncle ran the Herriko Taberna in Munitibar, it was always […]
It’s Super Bowl Sunday, the culmination of the National Football League’s season, which saw star quarterbacks like Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, Kyler Murray, and Dak Prescott light up the field (yeah, these last two are on my fantasy football team, so I might be biased; and I’m rooting for the Bengals!). However, there’s another league, […]
Get some kids together and throw in a rope and it won’t be long before they are trying to pull each other from one side to another. Tug of war is one of the most basic and raw competitions you can imagine and is a fixture at Basque festivals across the western United States. But, […]
The Olympics ended a few weeks ago, and now it’s time for the Paralympics, which start on Tuesday. The first official Paralympic Games were held in 1960 in Rome, though there were precursors to this historic event. There are at least thirteen athletes from the Basque Country going to Tokyo for the 2020 Paralympic Games. […]
The 2021 Olympics, hosted by Japan, are about half over. There have been a number of dramatic story lines already to go along with the amazing feats of athletic prowess. And, while the Basque Country doesn’t get to field its own team, there are of course a number of Basque athletes that are competing at […]
