You can tell the story of who people are by what they eat — stated Colleen Asumendi Fillmore, PhD, RD, LD All who know the Basques know that food is an immensely important aspect of their culture. Colleen Asumendi Fillmore knows this better than most, having studied the dietary culture of the Basques of Boise. […]
I’ve been meaning to share this set of links for a while and just thought I’d “dump” them on you before I either forget or they get outdated. 🙂 Last.fm, an online music station of sorts, has a channel dedicated to Kortatu and similar artists. I haven’t spent a lot of time with it yet, […]
Sunday, April 26, marks the 72nd anniversary of the bombing of Gernika. When I posted on a previous anniversary, I wrote that the Wikipedia article on the bombing briefly mentions that, in addition to Gernika and Durango, Gerrikaitz was also bombed. I was intrigued by this as my dad is from that town and I […]
Finding nice overviews of the Basque Country — its history, culture, traditions, and language — is rare in English. There are, of course, The Basque History of the World by Mark Kurlansky and The Basque Country: A Cultural History by Paddy Woodworth. But, both of those are rather lengthy and certainly have their authors’ respective […]
I had never heard of the txalaparta before my first visit to Euskadi in 1991, even though I was semi-active in Basque dancing and attended many festivals in the US. In fact, I only learned about it once a friend of mine, Mikel Lopategi, who was also in Euskadi at the same time, had learned […]
In 1991, I went to Euskal Herria to learn Euskara. My dad is from Munitibar, and my mom’s grandparents were from Leikeitio (her grandma) and Mutiloa (her grandpa). While of course my dad was fluent in Euskara, my mom hadn’t had the opportunity to learn. Her dad, while born and raised in Oregon, also knew […]
On egin dizuela janak eta kalterik ez edanak… May the food do you good and the drink do you no harm. The Basque Country is known for many things, including gastronomy, sports of strength, the Guggenheim, the basseriak, and so on. But, it is also known for good drink. Two indegenious beverages are txakoli and […]
Ahizpak. Sisters. Clearly a good description of Izar and Maite, two sisters who are immensely talented artists. Ahizpak is also the name of their joint studio, in which they showcase their work. Including sculpture, paintings, carvings, jewelry and more, they take their inspiration from their Basque heritage, incorporating Basque motifs such as the lauburu, Euskara, […]
Fresco Tours, based in Spain, is a tour company that offers tours of Spain. One of their tours, Basque in the Glory Tour, is centered on that part of the Camino de Santiago that passes through the Basque Country. Going from Hondarribia, through San Sebastian, Orio, Zumaia, and Deba to end at Bilbao and the […]
A while ago (I’m still way behind on answering emails), Jose Antonio Alcayaga III wrote me. He had just gone to Donostia, Euskal Herria as part of the University Studies Abroad Consortium (USAC) via the University of Nevada to learn euskara. Born and raised in Stamford, Connecticut, his father, from whom he gets his Basque […]
