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Basque Fact of the Week: Korrika, The Race in Support of the Basque Language
Earlier this month, the Basque Country witnessed what has become an amazing spectacle in support of the Basque language. Starting on March 14 in Irun and ending in Baiona after 11 days and more than 2,700 kilometers, thousands upon thousands of people ran across the Basque Country in support of Euskara. It is an event like no other in the world, though other places are trying to mimic its success. This is Korrika.
- Korrika, which means running in Basque, started in 1980. The first race took place between Oñati, Gipuzkoa and Bilbo, Bizkaia over the course of 9 days, starting on November 29 and ending on December 7. It was organized by AEK – Alfabetatze Euskalduntze Koordinakundea or Coordinadora de Euskaldunización Alfabetización – an organization that promotes the learning of the Basque language across the entire Basque Country.
- Ever since that first event, Korrika is held every two years, usually over 10 days, and passes via a different route throughout the seven historical provinces of the Basque Country – some 200 cities and towns have been visited during the 44 year history of the event.
- Korrika has been described as one of the largest pro-language demonstrations in the world and the longest relay race on the planet. Some 600,000 runners participate, and the relay goes straight through the 10 days with no breaks – even in the dead of night, runners keep running, passing a wooden baton that was used in the first race, to the next runner.
- Korrika is not only a demonstration, but a fund raiser in support of the Basque language. Every kilometer – the race this year covered 2,700 kilometers, or nearly 1700 miles – is sold to a sponsor who then leads that kilometer. Supporters follow with banners and music, giving the whole event a festive air.
- The baton also contains a secret message in Basque that is read at the end of the race by a Basque personality. This year, it was read by Garazi Arrula, an author who authored the message. She called the situation of the language both political and urgent and stressed how in Baiona, the city where the 2024 edition finished, the Basque language is not even official. She called the Korrika a “hungry people” and echoed the motto of the 2024 race: “harro herri” or “proud people.”
- Korrika has become a world-wide phenomenon, with runs wherever there are Basques. For example, Boise holds its own version of Korrika, though much shorter in length. In 2024, many cities across the globe participated, from Reno to Tokyo and from Necochea, Argentina to Lapland, Finland. Further, Korrika has inspired other regions to hold similar events, including Brittany starting in 2008, Catalonia in 1993, and Wales in 2014.
A full list of all of Buber’s Basque Facts of the Week can be found in the Archive.
Primary sources: Korrika, Korrika.eus; Korrika, Wikipedia
Thanks to Robert Uselton for suggesting this Basque Fact of the Week.
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Basque Fact of the Week: Koldo Mitxelena, the Greatest Scholar of Basque
It is sometimes amazing that, despite the long history of the Basque language, we know so little about it. Since it wasn’t a written language for so long and other languages like French and Spanish dominated the regions, Basque didn’t receive much attention from scholars. At least, not until relatively recently. It was people like Koldo Mitxelena who turned things around, who not only studied the language, but made it a subject worthy of pursuit. Larry Trask called Mitxelena “the greatest scholar the Basque language has ever seen.”
- Koldo (Luis in Spanish) Mitxelena Elissalt was born in 1915 in Errenteria, Gipuzkoa. He came from a modest background – his father was a basket maker and his maternal grandfather a weaver. As a child, he was bed-ridden due to illness for an extended time and it was during this period that he developed his passion for the Basque language.
- During the Spanish Civil War, he fought on the side of the anti-Fascists, joining the Euzko Gudarostea, or Basque army. He was captured and sentenced to death, but his sentence was commuted to 30 years in prison. In the end, he was released about five years later. However, during his time in prison he met several intellectuals and was encouraged to study at the university, which he did in 1948.
- Before that, he took an accounting job in Madrid where he was recruited by the Basque Government Resistance and worked clandestinely against Franco’s government with the hope that, if the Allies won World War II, Franco’s government would fall. For a time he led the Madrid cell. He was arrested during a raid and spent two more years in prison. In 1949 he married Matilde Martínez de Ilárduya, one of his co-conspirators in Madrid.
- In the 1950s, Mitxelena undertook the reconstruction of prehistorical Proto-Basque. Proto-Basque is what the Basque language looked like about 2000 years ago, right before and after the Basques first had contact with the Romans. By comparing how words vary in modern dialects of Basque and how loan words from Latin had evolved in the Basque language, he was able to go back in time, undoing those changes, to deduce what Basque must have been like back then.
- After he published his reconstruction of Proto-Basque, texts in Aquitanian were found which agreed with his reconstructions. This also established Aquitanian as an ancestral form of Basque, a conclusion he demonstrated in 1954.
- Mitxelena’s stature as the preeminent Basque linguist lead him to be asked, in 1968, to helm efforts to create Batua, the unified Basque dialect. He was also involved in the creation of the University of the Basque Country.
- Mitxelena died in 1987. A collection of his works, more than 6000 documents, can be found at the Koldo Mitxelena Kulturunea.
A full list of all of Buber’s Basque Facts of the Week can be found in the Archive.
Primary sources: Koldo Mitxelena, Wikipedia; Estornés Zubizarreta, Idoia. Mitxelena Elissalt, Koldo. Auñamendi Encyclopedia, 2024. Available at: https://aunamendi.eusko-ikaskuntza.eus/en/mitxelena-elissalt-koldo/ar-79333/
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Basque Fact of the Week: The Seven Mummies of the Basque Country
The paths I take to finding these facts of the week can be a bit tortuous, winding here and there, but they lead in the most interesting of directions. A few weeks ago, I posted about Inguma, the bringer of nightmares. One way to protect against Inguma is to say a short prayer to Santa Inés. It turns out, Santa Inés is a mummy, the remains of a woman who died in the early 1600s. And she isn’t the only mummy in the Basque Country – there are several. We don’t know the truth about all of them, but several are venerated for their healing powers.
- The best preserved mummy is Inés Ruiz de Otalora, popularly known as Amandre Santa Inés. Her remains lie in Mondragón, where her body was taken after she died in Valladolid in 1607, childless and widowed. She had already been interred for some time and when her remains were excavated to move to Mondragón, it was in an immaculate state, leading people to say it was a sign of her sanctity. People believe that she protects against nightmares and Inguma and insomnia to the point of they pray to her in case they are not able to sleep. In life, she was the fourth daughter of Miguel Ruiz de Otalora, a regent of the Court of Nafarroa.
- The Counts of Durango are actually two mummies that, until 1967, had been interred in Elorrio. However, at that time, one of their heads was stolen so the two bodies were transferred to the Basque Archaeological, Ethnographic and Historical Museum of Bilbao. The bodies were attributed to the first Counts of Durango – Munio Sánchez and his wife Leguncia – who founded the Church of San Agustín de Echevarria in the year 1053. However, their tomb is of a later style, so this identification is uncertain.
- The Gorputz Santue, or Holy Corpse, resides in Errigoiti. It had been found in a niche in the wall of the church when it was renovated in 1550. Legends says that when the townspeople tried to build a new church, the construction supplies kept mysteriously moving to the site of the old church. One night, a group of men stood watch, and saw a virgin driving a cart pulled by two ox that moved the supplies. Thus, she became known as Our Lady of Idibalzaga, Our Lady of the Black Ox (as one of the ox was black). When the body was discovered, legends says that two boys tossed her shoes aside – one was immediately struck blind and the other lost the use of his arm, though both recovered after spending a few days near the body. In reality, the body is that of a man, not a woman.
- San Fausto is preserved in the parish church of Bujanda in Araba. References to San Fausto date as far back as 1547. The Catholic Church has said that the remains are those of San Fausto Labrador, the protector of childbirth and fertility, particularly the fertility of marriages and the land. Legend has he was from Catalonia and was a slave in Africa, before converting his master to Christianity. Upon his death, maybe in 604, he told his friends to put his body on his horse and let it take it where it would, which is how he ended up in Araba. However, whether he actually existed is not clear, and he may be a legendary figure confused with Faust of Córdoba.
- In Labiano, Nafarroa, lies Santa Felicia. Felicia was the daughter of a king of Aquitaine. Her mummy has been mentioned since at least 1650, though it isn’t clear if the mummy is really her. She is said to be able to help against headaches and disorders, as mentally disabled children were brought to her. Chips from her wooden coffin were taken as they were thought to have special properties. Legends says she retired from the world but her brother, Guillermo, killed her when she refused to return with him. As with Fausto, it is said her body was placed on a mule that went where it would, eventually stopping at Labiano.
- Madre Catalina – Mother Catalina – is in a convent in Pamplona/Iruna, Nafarroa. A sixteenth century nun, she died in Barcelona when she was 50 and 7 months later her body was still in a state of incorruptibility. There are no special traditions associated with her as her body is hidden away in the convent.
- The remains of Leonor de Calbo are also preserved in a convent, in Astigarraga, Gipuzkoa. Her almost perfectly preserved body was found when they were digging the foundations of a convent. it is said that the remains are those of Mother Leonor de Calbo, the founder of the convent of San Bartolomé in Donostia where it was discovered in 1325. Most of her remains were subsequently destroyed in a fire in 1813 during the War of Independence, or Peninsular War. The nuns that watch over her say she has cured seriously ill children. If the child wears clothing passed over the body, he or she will either be cured or die within three days.
A full list of all of Buber’s Basque Facts of the Week can be found in the Archive.
Primary sources: Antropologia, historia y creencias populares en torno a las momias conservadas en el Pais Vasco, Francisco Etxeberria, Angel Armendariz, José Angel Barrutiabengoa, Miguel Angel Carnicero, Lourdes Herrasti, Germán Tamayo, José Ignacio Vegas, Cuadernos de Sección. Ciencias Médicas 3, 11 (1994); Estornés Lasa, Bernardo. OTALORA, Inés Ruiz de. Auñamendi Encyclopedia, 2024. Available at: https://aunamendi.eusko-ikaskuntza.eus/en/otalora-ines-ruiz-de/ar-112905/; Una ‘amandre’ de 405 años by Kepa Oliden, El Diaro Vasco; Urzainqui Miqueleiz, Iosune. SANTA FELICIA. Auñamendi Encyclopedia, 2024. Available at: https://aunamendi.eusko-ikaskuntza.eus/en/santa-felicia/ar-126489/
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The Adventures of Maite and Kepa: Part 184
“Paris?” asked Maite. “Why Paris?”
Kepa shrugged his shoulders. “Why not? I’ve never been and it seems like a pretty cool city.”
Maite nodded absentmindedly. “I’ve never been either. Ok, why not. How do we do this?”
“Let me show you.”
Kepa waved his hand in the air in a circle. At first nothing happened, but then the faint outline of a circle started hovering in the air before them, glowing dimly at first but, with each circling of his hand, it brightened. Soon, a glowing globe floated in front of them. Most of it was fuzzy, but Maite could clearly see the outlines of the continents. Kepa then sliced the air with his hand and seemingly pulled the globe apart. It flattened into a map. He then pinched his fingers and pulled them apart, and the area in front of them zoomed in. Maite could clearly see Donostia at the center. It was also the clearest part of the map – the further away she looked, the blurrier it became. But, she could make things out clearly across most of Spain and France, including Paris. There were pulsing white dots all over the map.
“Are those…?” she began.
Kepa nodded. “Yep, every one of those dots is a zatia.” He paused. “We have a lot of work to do.”
As they watched, one of the dots disappeared with a sudden flash.
“That was a bubble bursting,” said Kepa. “I can only guess that de Lancre found a zatia. Or Marina.”
“Seriously?” exclaimed Maite. “How often does that happen?”
“Not very,” replied Kepa. “Maybe once every few days.”
“Every few days?” Maite collapsed on the bed. “I can’t, Kepa. It’s too much. How can we keep up with de Lancre? There are so many…”
“And that’s why we don’t have to stress it so much. There are so many, so if he gets a few, what does it matter. There are so many more to get.”
“But if he gets enough…”
“Maybe, but for all we know those are another team that Marina has recruited to find zatiak. We might not be alone.”
Maite nodded. “That’s probably true. There could be a lot of others out there doing her bidding. Maybe they are the ones that found that zatia.”
“Maybe. Anyways, that’s why I think we should pick a place we want to go to and enjoy it a little bit before we search for the zatia, assuming of course that de Lancre hasn’t already corrupted the place.”
“That sounds like a good plan. So, Paris. When in Paris? I mean, what year will we be going there?”
Kepa shrugged. “If I can tell when the zatia are, I haven’t figured it out. So far, I can only see where, not when.”
“I guess as long as it isn’t in the middle of the French Revolution…”
If you get this post via email, the return-to address goes no where, so please write blas@buber.net if you want to get in touch with me.
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Basque Fact of the Week: Eneko Arista, the First King of Pamplona
If there was a time when the Basques were unified as one political entity, it was under the Kingdom of Nafarroa, which started out as the Kingdom of Pamplona. The first king of Pamplona, Eneko Arista, founded the kingdom sometime around 824. His family was closely intertwined with the neighboring Banu Qasi family – indeed, the leader of that clan was Eneko’s half brother. Though not always friendly, they were often allies and it is said that it was their defeat of the Carolingians that led to the formation of the Kingdom of Pamplona.
- We know little about the early life of Eneko, or alternatively Iñigo, Arista. He is first mentioned by Arab historian Ibn Haiyan. His daughter was married in 812, so that puts his birth some time around 780 or so. His full name – Eneko Enékez Arista – suggests his father was also named Eneko. One text suggests he was from Bigorra. More certain, as attested by multiple texts, is that he was the first King of Pamplona, establishing the kingdom and its first ruling dynasty.
- Eneko’s mother, thought to be Oneca though that isn’t certain, married one of the Banu Qasi upon the death of her husband. Their son, Musa ibn Musa, Eneko’s half brother, became a central figure in the region and, often allied with Eneko, provided significant aid to his half brother, helping him to expand his influence.
- In 824, they together vanquished Carolingian forces in the second battle of Roncesvalles (Orreaga). There is no actual evidence that Eneko was at the battle, nor that there was any kind of official crowning afterwards, but it was this battle that is said to have led to the founding of the Kingdom of Pamplona, with Eneko as its king.
- In retaliation for an attack on Eneko’s kingdom by the wali of Zaragoza in 840, Musa ibn Musa rose against the Emir and the Caliphate centered in Cordoba. Eneko joined his half-brother in this rebellion. In retaliation of that uprising, the Emir sent troops to quell the rebellion and these same were sent against the Kingdom of Pamplona.
- Eneko died in 852. He had already suffered from paralysis, possibly from wounds sustained during battle, and his son García Enekez had already been installed as King of Pamplona.
A full list of all of Buber’s Basque Facts of the Week can be found in the Archive.
Primary sources: Estornés Lasa, Bernardo [et al.]. Íñigo Íñiguez Arista. Auñamendi Encyclopedia, 2024. Available at: https://aunamendi.eusko-ikaskuntza.eus/en/inigo-iniguez-arista/ar-52052/; Íñigo Arista, Wikipedia
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Basque Fact of the Week: The History of Gernika
The Basque city of Gernika, in the heart of Bizkaia, holds a particularly special place in Basque consciousness. It is hugely important as a symbol of Basque rights and democracy, as kings would have to meet local leaders under the famous Tree of Gernika to swear to uphold the rights of the Basques. However, more recently, Gernika has become a darker symbol, a testament to the horrors of war when it was bombed by the German Air Force at the behest of Franco during the Spanish Civil War.
- Gernika-Lumo was, at one point, two separate villages. Before they joined together in 1882, they were separately called Gernika and Luno. However, it wasn’t until 1983 that they formally changed their name to the combined Gernika-Lumo. The village of Ajangiz was added in 1943. In 1967, other villages, including Arrazua, Kortezubi, Forua, Murueta and Nabarniz, were temporarily annexed into the larger Gernika-Lumo metropolitan area.
- However, before that, Gernika was simply part of the antechurch of Luno. Gernika officially became its own village in 1366 when Tello Alfonso, then Lord of Bizkaia, separated it from the jurisdiction of the antechurch of Luno. It was formed at the crossroads that connected Bermeo to Durango and Bilbao to Elantxobe and Lekeitio. This separation caused conflict between the two over who controlled various lands, which wasn’t resolved until 1882 when they were again merged into a single municipal entity.
- The history of Gernika dates to prehistory, when prehistoric humans painted on the walls of the nearby Santimamiñe cave. Legend says that Jaun Zuria, the White Lord, was given rule of Bizkaia in Gernika, after the battle of Arrigorriaga, said to take place in 870.
- For many years, what would be Gernika was part of the Kingdom of Pamplona, specifically from 931 to 1076 and again between 1112 and 1175, this latter association ending when Castilian troops invaded and broke up the kingdom.
- The most enduring and important symbol of the town, the Tree of Gernika, has been a meeting place to decide laws since time immemorial. At least by 1390, the people of Bizkaia demanded that the king come and swear an oath to uphold their rights and freedoms. The fueros of 1452 established this tradition more formally with the new kings of Castille, with Henry IV taking the oath in 1457. The last monarch to take the oath under the tree was the Spanish regent Maria Christina and her infant daughter Queen Isabella II in 1839.
- Gernika also had a central role in the War of the Bands, which saw rival families fighting one another that evolved into a rural-vs-urban conflict. The Gernika bridge was the scene of multiple fights between the Arteaga and Múgica families in the mid 1400s.
- Of course, on April 26, 1937, Gernika was bombed during the Spanish Civil War by the German air force. The bombing occurred on market day, when civilians were shopping in the streets.
Primary sources: Castaño García, Manu. Gernika-Lumo. Auñamendi Encyclopedia, 2024. Available at: https://aunamendi.eusko-ikaskuntza.eus/en/gernika-lumo/ar-57197/; Guernica, Wikipedia
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The first anniversary of the Texas Resolution and the future National Basque World War II Veterans Memorial
by Pedro Oiarzabal
March 1 marks the first anniversary of the historical resolution that honors, for the first time in the history of the United States, our WWII veterans of Basque origin. The resolution was passed by the Texas House of Representatives, in Austin, thanks to the efforts of Representative Rafael Anchia (HD 103) and the Basque history association, Sancho de Beurko, with the enthusiastic support of the North American Basque Organizations (N.A.B.O.) and the Basque Educational Organization. The non-profit association Sancho de Beurko has led the research project, “Fighting Basques: Memory of WWII,” under the direction of Dr. Pedro J. Oiarzabal and Guillermo Tabernilla, since 2015. “Fighting Basques” is the first-ever systematic academic research on the contributions of WWII veterans of Basque origin in the U.S. Armed Forces and the Merchant Marines. As a result of their work, over 16,000 Basque WWII veterans have been identified so far – very little to nothing was known about most of these veterans prior to the research.
On the Texas House Floor, we witnessed one of the most memorable and heart-warming events in the recent history of the Basque American community. Also, for the first time, Basque was spoken on the House Floor.
Two months later, in May 2023, during the Kern County Basque Club’s Memorial Day Weekend festival, N.A.B.O.’s delegates overwhelmingly approved the establishment of the Basques in World War II Memorial Special Committee, led by N.A.B.O.’s treasurer Mayi Berterretche Petracek, with the goal of assisting with the completion of the research of Basques who served in the armed forces during World War II and to explore the feasibility of the creation and installation of a memorial to these Basques. In November 2023, N.A.B.O.’s delegates ratified the Special Committee’s goals:
1. To seek funding to complete the research, by 2025-2026.
2. To establish the first official memorial site, under the leadership of N.A.B.O., for veterans of Basque origin who served honorably in every branch of the U.S. Armed Forces during WWII in order to recognize their unselfish service to the country, by the end of 2026, coinciding with the 85th anniversary of the U.S. entering war.
In the meantime, on December 5, 2023, a small ceremony took place at the Okinawa Peace Memorial Park’s Cornerstone of Peace monument on the Japanese island of Okinawa in which tribute was paid to all American veterans of Basque origin who died during World War II in the Pacific, with special recognition for those who perished on the island. They were over twenty young Basque-Americans, six of them killed in Okinawa. The Cornerstone of Peace monument features the names of over 240,000 who died during the fighting, from both sides of war. During the planning of the event, sadly we found out that none of the six Basque Americans were on the memorial wall. The Okinawa Prefecture requested from the U.S. government official evidence that the six Basques had died in Okinawa so that they could be included in the memorial. Well, we have some great news to share with you. In mid-February, the U.S. Army and the Department of Defense released all their personnel files to us, so we will be able to add their names to the monument in the near future.
Within the context of the 42nd anniversary of the San Francisco Basque Cultural Center’s festival, held on February 17-18, in an effort to complete the research and eventually establish a physical memorial to our Basque WWII veterans, N.A.B.O. launched a fundraising campaign. The goal is to complete research by 2025-2026, so that efforts could then turn to creating “The National Basque World War II Veterans Memorial.” In addition, Oiarzabal gave a public talk, entitled “A WWII Memorial for the Basque American Greatest Generation,” which was very well attended. Among the audience there were several families of veterans.
We strongly believe that the National Basque WWII Veterans Memorial will become a permanent testament to their lives, families’ histories, sacrifices, and contributions to the country. Please consider donating to achieve this noble goal. Remember, your contribution to support this important project is tax-deductible.
“Let no veteran be forgotten.”
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The Adventures of Maite and Kepa: Part 183
After cocktails, the four of them wandered the old part of town, stopping here and there for pintxos and drinks. Kepa figured he might regret it the next day, but he tended to order kalimotxos to have that combination of caffeine and alcohol. In the moment, he felt like he could drink them forever, but he knew the morning would tell him otherwise. Still, he indulged himself.
Maite, on the other hand, was significantly more temperate. She didn’t have an exam coming up or any big homework assignment due, but she planned to spend the next few days in her new research group and she wanted to make a good impression. At the very least, she didn’t want to get on the wrong foot and on the bad side of her professor. Maite had heard that her professor, brilliant though she was, was also very demanding. Having done her graduate work in the United States, she expected long hours and even weekends, something that was almost antethema to the Basque way of life. In any case, Maite knew this was essentially a trial run and if she did not impress her professor, she’d likely have to find a new one.
Belen and Joseba seemed to have no cares. They ate and drank with abandon, as if tomorrow would never come. They were also all over each other – the public displays of affection were almost uncomfortable for Maite. While Joseba had said that his grandfather was from the Basque Country, Maite couldn’t help but wonder if his grandmother might have been Italian.
At one point, Belen seemed to notice Maite’s discomfort. She chuckled as she said “We’re sorry. It’s just been a little while since we last saw each other.”
“Oh?” asked Maite.
Joseba also chuckled as he dove in to give Belen a kiss on her neck. “I had to go back to Mexico for a few months. My mother had surgery…”
“I hope she is ok!” interjected Kepa.
Joseba nodded. “She is fine, but for a while it wasn’t clear she would be. My father needed some help around the business while my mother was recovering. But,” he added with a sparkle in his eye as he looked at Belen, “I’m back!” He grabbed Belen and pulled her tight against his body as she squealed in delight.
It was late when Kepa and Maite finally got back to their apartment.
“Ugh,” said Maite as she collapsed on the bed. “The morning is going to be here too soon. I feel like I could sleep for a week.”
Kepa lay down next to her on his side, twirling the curls in her hair. “I have an idea,” he began.
Maite looked at him. “Seriously? I just told you I’m dead tired. I don’t have the energy for…”
Kepa interrupted her with a “Shhh. That’s not what I was thinking.”
Maite sat up, intrigued. “What were you thinking then?”
“Well,” he said. “What if we escaped to one of the bubbles for a little while? It would be like a vacation, except we wouldn’t miss any time here.”
“Most of the bubbles seem to be a dystopian nightmare,” exclaimed Maite. “How would that be relaxing?”
“Well, they are that way because we keep searching out the zatiak. What if we just took a break and relaxed before the mission?”
“Huh.” Maite just sat there, staring off into space. “Did you just think of that?”
“No,” replied Kepa. “I’ve been thinking about it for a while. The bubbles offer us endless possibilities to explore new places without much risk.”
“Ok. I like it. But, how do we even find a bubble on demand? So far, we’ve just accidentally bumped into one.”
Kepa sat up excitedly. “So, I’ve been playing around with my powers while you’ve been at the uni. Up until now, we’ve only been able to find bubbles when we crossed paths with one. But, I think we can find any of them across the world with our powers. Well, at least the ones near us. I think that, as our powers grow, we might be able to reach more and more, but that is just a guess.”
“A nice hypothesis,” added Maite. “It’s worth a shot. Where should we go?”
Kepa’s smile widened. “What do you think about Paris?”
If you get this post via email, the return-to address goes no where, so please write blas@buber.net if you want to get in touch with me.
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Basque Fact of the Week: Restaurateur Henri Soulé and La Côte Basque
This one maybe goes in the “if” category. La Côte Basque has been in the news a lot lately. La Côte Basque is a chapter in an unfinished novel by Truman Capote named after a famed New York restaurant – it is about New York socialites and is being brought to the small screen as part of Feud: Capote vs the Swans. Of course, the name La Côte Basque is intriguing to someone who runs a blog about all things Basque. The restaurant was opened by Henri Soulé who was from very near the Basque Country. Several places refer to him as being Basque, though I’ve had a hard time definitively pinpointing if he was Basque or not. If anyone has more information, I’d more than welcome it. In any case, it is an interesting story and Soulé certainly lived and worked in the Basque Country.
- Soulé was born in 1903 in Saubrigues, France, just slightly north of Baiona and Biarritz though strictly outside of the Basque province of Lapurdi. In fact, Wikipedia says he was born in Baiona, but, when he died, Soulé requested to be buried in Saubrigues, which strongly hints at his strong connection to that town. And other references say he was born in Saubrigues. Perhaps incidentally, Soule is the French name for the Basque province of Zuberoa…
- In any case, when he was fourteen years old, Soulé left home and began working as a busboy at the Continental Hotel in Biarritz. He had been recommended by his uncle who was a baker in Baiona. It wasn’t long before he was in Paris where, by the age of 21, he became the city’s youngest maître d’hôtel. In 1926, he worked in London, at the Tocadero Restaurant in Piccadilly Circus with one goal being to learn English.
- In 1939, he was asked to run Le Restaurant Français which was part of the French pavilion at the World’s Fair in New York City. When World War II began, he decided to stay in the United States and, in 1941, he opened his first restaurant, Le Pavillon. It became “the undisputed top-ranked establishment in America” and “produced this country’s finest French cuisine.”
- In 1958, he opened La Côte Basque on the site of the old Le Pavillon, which had moved to another location. The walls were painted with murals of Donibane Lohitzune (Saint-Jean-de-Luz). When it started taking clientele away from Le Pavillon, Soulé sold it but he bought it back only a few years later. It was only a year later that he died of a heart attack, either in the men’s room or on the phone yelling at a union official. When he died, there were some twelve restaurants that had grown out of Le Pavillon.
- As food writer Patric Kuh describes him, “He was Basque, and he liked to eat flaked salt cod with warm boiled potatoes and chopped parsley.” He was once described by food critic Gael Greene as “pasty faced… with owl eyes,” but also as a “showman, snob, perfectionist, martinet, con-man, wooer and wooed master of haute cuisine.”
- Soulé was also known to be tyrannical in both his dealings with his staff and his clientele. He supposedly hired criminals to intimidate his staff when they tried to strike for better wages and hours. He controlled where customers sat – he wanted to “bestow” the best, most visible seats to those he deemed worthy and favored. Those who he did not favor got seated in “Siberia.” And he cowed to no one, even having a public spat with the Kennedys during John F. Kennedy‘s presidential run about a photographer he refused to evict.
- When he died, he left his two restaurants to his widow Olga, who was living in Baiona, and his sister Madeleine. This was surprising to those who knew him, as no one even knew he had a family back in France. They had all assumed that Henriette Spalter, who started as a coat-checker, was his wife, though in reality she was his mistress. Spalter bought La Côte Basque and continued its operation until 1979, when she sold it. It closed permanently as La Côte Basque in 2004. Le Pavillon didn’t last nearly so long, closing in 1971.
Primary sources: Ten Restaurants That Changed America by Paul Freedman, Henri Soulé, Wikipedia; Dining at the Pavillon by Joseph Wechsberg
