Diaspora, Fighting Basques

We Must Remember Them: WWII Veteran Regina Bastida, 104, Reflects on Memory and Service

Leave a comment

by Sancho de Beurko Association

A centenarian World War II veteran reflects on memory, sacrifice, and the effort to build the National Basque WWII Veterans Memorial in Gardnerville, Nevada.

At 104 years old, Regina “Reggie” Bastida is among the last living World War II veterans of Basque origin — and one of the few remaining voices of the generation that helped define modern America.

Born in Boise, Idaho in 1922 to Basque immigrant parents, Regina served with the U.S. Army Nurse Corps during World War II and belongs to the generation often called the “Greatest Generation.” Their service helped defend the democratic values that continue to shape the United States today.

In a recently-recorded interview in Boise, Regina shared a message that captures both the spirit of her generation and the purpose behind the National Basque WWII Veterans Memorial:

“We want to remember our young men that went to war and gave their lives for our country.”
— Second Lieutenant Regina “Reggie” Bastida
U.S. Army Nurse Corps

Her words remind us that remembrance is not only about the past — it is about the civic principles her generation stood for: duty, sacrifice, service, and democracy. 

After more than a decade of research, the nonprofit homeland history association Sancho de Beurko has identified over 2,150 men and women of Basque descent who served during World War II across the United States and abroad. In many ways, their story reflects a familiar American narrative: immigrants — some of them not yet citizens — and the sons and daughters of immigrant families who stepped forward to serve both their country of adoption and the country of their birth during one of the defining moments of the twentieth century. 

Today, the project has reached an important milestone. The Town of Gardnerville, Nevada, has designated a site in Heritage Park for the memorial, and a conceptual design has been completed. The goal is to dedicate the memorial before the end of 2026, ensuring that the service of this generation is honored while their voices can still guide us.

Conceptual rendering of the National Basque WWII Veterans Memorial proposed for Heritage Park in Gardnerville, Nevada.

“Echoes of two wars, 1936-1945” aims to disseminate the stories of those Basques and Navarrese who participated in two of the warfare events that defined the future of much of the 20th century. With this blog, the intention of the Sancho de Beurko Association is to rescue from anonymity the thousands of people who constitute the backbone of the historical memory of the Basque and Navarre communities, on both sides of the Pyrenees, and their diasporas of emigrants and descendants, with a primary emphasis on the United States, during the period from 1936 to 1945.

THE AUTHORS
Guillermo Tabernilla is a researcher and founder of the Sancho de Beurko Association, a non-profit organization that studies the history of the Basques and Navarrese from both sides of the Pyrenees in the Spanish Civil War and in World War II. He is currently their secretary and community manager. He is also editor of the digital magazine Saibigain. Between 2008 and 2016 he directed the catalog of the “Iron Belt” for the Heritage Directorate of the Basque Government and is, together with Pedro J. Oiarzabal, principal investigator of the Fighting Basques Project, a memory project on the Basques and Navarrese in the Second World War in collaboration with the federation of Basque Organizations of North America.

Pedro J. Oiarzabal is a Doctor in Political Science-Basque Studies, granted by the University of Nevada, Reno (USA). For two decades, his work has focused on research and consulting on public policies (citizenship abroad and return), diasporas and new technologies, and social and historical memory (oral history, migration and exile), with special emphasis on the Basque case. He is the author of more than twenty publications. He has authored the blog “Basque Identity 2.0” by EITB and “Diaspora Bizia” by EuskalKultura.eus. On Twitter @Oiarzabal.

Josu M. Aguirregabiria is a researcher and founder of the Sancho de Beurko Association and is currently its president. A specialist in the Civil War in Álava, he is the author of several publications related to this topic, among which “La batalla de Villarreal de Álava” (2015) y “Seis días de guerra en el frente de Álava. Comienza la ofensiva de Mola” (2018) stand out.

The National Basque WWII Veterans Memorial is envisioned as the first and only national monument in the United States dedicated exclusively to Basque-American World War II veterans. More importantly, it is intended as a civic space where future generations can reflect on the values that Regina’s generation embodied.

Honoring this generation is also a race against time. 

Projects like this are never the work of a single organization or community. They are built through the commitment of people who believe that remembrance matters.

For those who feel moved by Regina’s message, there are many ways to help bring this tribute to life  — whether by supporting the project directly, sharing its story, or helping connect it with others who care about preserving this chapter of American history.

Those who wish to support the Memorial may do so through our secure online donation page:

https://my.cheddarup.com/c/national-basque-wwii-veterans-memorial/items

Because as Regina reminds us, the purpose is simple:

We must remember them.

If you are a relative of a Basque WWII veteran and you would like to find out if he or she is on the list, please contact the project researchers: sanchobeurko@gmail.com

Basque Fact of the Week, Euskadi, Folklore

Basque Fact of the Week: Sugegorri, the Viper of the Basque Country

Leave a comment

My mom tells a story of my dad where they were out in the countryside working, spending the night camping in the field. Somehow, my dad became aware of a rattlesnake nearby and freaked out, dousing the whole area with gas and lighting it on fire to kill the snake. My mom said it was because he was deathly afraid of snakes because of a “red snake” he knew about in the Basque Country.

I admit, I was a bit skeptical about this existence of this “red snake,” so I asked, and indeed it is a thing: the sugegorri – literally “red snake” – is a viper native to the Basque Country.

A collection of sugegorriak. Image from Asociación Herpetológica Española.
  • There are three types of vipers that are native to the Basque Country and, more generally, the Atlantic coastal regions nearby: the Cantabrian viper (Vipera seoanei), on the Atlantic side; the aspis viper (Vipera aspis aspis), in the Pyrenees themselves; and the Lataste viper (Vipera latastei), in the south. The latter is rare. 
  • Sugegorri – literally red snake – is both a general term for a class of vipers and more specifically to the Cantabrian viper, though there are two subspecies of snakes that fall in this class: Vipera seoanei seoanei and Vipera seoanei cantabrica. 
  • The sugegorri is polymorphic, meaning it can take on various colors and patterns. Typically, males, which can be smaller than females, are white and blue-barred, with strong black markings. Females are brown or reddish. The belly is blue or black; sometimes with white spots. The tail is yellow, orange and red underneath. There are some very dark, almost black, specimens.
  • Various beliefs were associated with snakes and, more specifically, vipers in the Basque Country. For example, in Bedaroa, they thought that a viper would return to the scene of the crime, so to speak, after biting someone, so the people would go to the spot the next day to kill it. In places like Karrantza, Sara, and Gernika, they thought that vipers didn’t bite, but rather stung people with their tongues. The gathering and/or hiding of certain herbs could protect against snake attacks. Or one should carry garlic, but never cheese.
  • Some believed that the common slow worm, a legless lizard, protected men from snakes by warning them when they were sleeping in the countryside. Sometimes they would do this by wiggling their tail in the sleeping man’s ear. However, they would only warn men, whom they considered friends – they didn’t warn women.
  • The bite of the viper was considered very dangerous, with people in Erroibar saying that if you were bit by a viper, you would die within an hour.
  • An interesting side note… in Basque, the verb “to die” is hil. However, in some places, for snakes and other animals, other words are used to say “to die.” Examples include akaatu (used for harmful animals), akabau, galdu (used for the violent death of a snake, literally meaning lost), kalitu, and amaitu (meaning finished).
  • The ultimate snake is the herensuge. Some beliefs suggest that all snakes descend from the herensuge. In some places, it was thought that vipers came from snakes and could eventually turn into a dragon.

A full list of all of Buber’s Basque Facts of the Week can be found in the Archive.

Primary sources: Most are linked directly in the post.

Basque Fact of the Week, Euskadi

Basque Fact of the Week: Courtship in the Basque Country

Leave a comment

Love is the universal language, so they say. Though sometimes it is more difficult to “speak” than even Euskara! In every culture, there are norms of how men and women socialize and get to know one another, and this is true in the Basque Country. Particularly in rural areas before the advent of phones and the like, there were strict expectations on how young men and women interacted. While that has changed dramatically in the last decades, it is still interesting to see how Basque society expected young folks to navigate this part of their lives.

Galanteo – or courting/wooing a young woman from under her window. Image from Atlas Etnográfico de Vasconia.
  • In old times, before TV and the internet, young men and women had few opportunities to mingle – both worked a full day and had little free time. Dances on Sundays and holidays and meeting after religious services were some of the few occasions men and women could meet. Sometimes, after a big task such as a harvest, a home would host a dance that also brought young men and women together. Or those tasks themselves provided that opportunity. Later, young people had more free time and would often “go to the mountains” to socialize. When a couple was ready to “announce” they were courting, the boy would often walk the girl home.
  • Young people who wanted to find a boyfriend or girlfriend often prayed to saints, particularly Saint Anthony, to help them in their quest. In some places, young women would go to the chapel and place a pin in a panel: a black-headed pin for a dark-haired boy and a white-headed pin for a blonde. The first girl to bath on Saint John’s day would find a boyfriend within a year. 
  • In some places, boys would head to a girl’s house to serenade her as a group. Or, they would go individually and just talk to the girl who was up in her room while the boy stood outside. If another boy had already gotten there, the second might throw stones at him to get him to leave. Sometimes, the girl would let the boy into her room by climbing a ladder.
  • Girls also showed their affection, primarily through treats. Piperopilak are sweets, a type of cake, that the girl could buy or make and give to the boy of her affection. Sometimes, she would put it in her pocket and let the boy she liked search her to find it. If a boy was serenading a young woman and she fancied him, she (or her father!) might drop a bollo – a sweet bread – from her window.
  • However, it was expected that the boy take the lead and that the girl not show too much interest, that she play hard to get. It was also frowned upon for girls to go out at night – they might be called farolas, or streetlights. If a woman made the first move, she was often criticized with sayings such as “la morcilla nunca vaya tras el gato” – the sausage should never chase the cat. 
  • Depending on the location, summer or winter was considered the best time to start a courtship. Summers were great because of all of the festivals, particularly the big ones which drew people from multiple towns. However, the summer was also full of hard work, so winters were thought better in some places.

A full list of all of Buber’s Basque Facts of the Week can be found in the Archive.

Primary sources: Inicios de la Relación Amorosa, Atlas Etnográfico de Vasconia

Basque Fact of the Week, Euskadi

Basque Fact of the Week: Ainhoa, A Gem in Lapurdi

Leave a comment

The Basque Country holds so many hidden gems. We are all familiar with the big places – Donostia, Bilbo, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Pamplona/Iruña – but there is so much more to see. Spectacular waterfalls. Strange geological forms. Nature reserves. Small villages untouched by modernization. Ainhoa falls in this last category. A small town in Lapurdi on the border between France and Spain, it has seen a lot of history. Despite all of the conflict, it has managed to retain a medieval charm.

What are your hidden Basque gems?

Photo of Ainhoa, “The most beautiful village in France,” from tourisme64.com.
  • Ainhoa is what is called a commune in France. It was founded sometime in the 13th century. As it sat on the border between the Duchy of Aquitaine and the Kingdom of Nafarroa, it was founded as a stop for pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago. In 1238, Theobald I of Navarre bought the toll rights of the town, meaning he was able charge those pilgrims a fee to pass through.
  • As Lapurdi was then under the English crown, Ainhoa was at the center of the tensions between the two kingdoms and, in fact, the residents of Ainhoa paid taxes to both England and Nafarroa. This lasted until the 15th century when Ainhoa and neighboring regions came under French rule.
  • The town, along with several others, was destroyed 1636 during the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) when Spain invaded. Only the church – a recognized historical monument – and one house, named Machitorénéa, which had been built only a few years earlier in 1629. 
  • Ainhoa is a so-called Bastide style town, with one street around which the town was built, and later rebuilt. Today, the town is home to just over 600 people.
  • In the early 1700s, Ainhoa, primarily the women of the town, was central to the revolts against the salt tax and other taxes. The revolts started in Ainhoa in 1724, spreading to the rest of Lapurdi and then other parts of Iparralde, in the following years. 
  • In 1794, during the French terror and after Iparralde had been incorporated into larger French departments, towns like Ainhoa on the border with Spain were declared to be “infamous communes” – people were arrested and deported to other parts of France. These were “any citizen suspected of having an anti-revolutionary spirit or of having an understanding with the Spanish.” They returned later that year but only with great difficulty.
  • Today, Ainhoa retains much of that original medieval flavor – it has been named one of France’s most beautiful villages. The cemetery, right next to the church, has some excellent examples of funeral steles that are common to the Basque Country. And, Ainhoa boasts Ithurria, a one-star Michelin restaurant. Amazing for such a small town!

A full list of all of Buber’s Basque Facts of the Week can be found in the Archive.

Primary sources: Estornés Zubizarreta, Idoia; Berger, Marie Claude. AINHOA. Auñamendi Encyclopedia, 2025. Available at: https://aunamendi.eusko-ikaskuntza.eus/en/ainhoa/ar-7408/; Ainhoa, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Wikipedia; Ainhoa, Le Guide de Pays Basque; This medieval Basque village survived destruction in 1629 – its red-and-white houses hide France’s most authentic pilgrimage town, World Day; Aïnhoa a charming medieval village, Biper Gorri Camping

Basque Fact of the Week, History

Basque Fact of the Week: Basque Shipbuilding Innovations

Leave a comment

The Basques weren’t the first to explore the seas… or were they? The Basques didn’t invent boats… or did they? The Basques aren’t aliens from outer space… or are they?

Seriously, the Basques played an important part in the development of shipbuilding and seafaring. We know that they were outstanding navigators, but their contributions go beyond that, to also improving ship technology. As a sort of nexus between northern and southern Europe, they fused technologies to make things even better.

Model of a Bayonne cog. Image from gipuzkoakultura.net.
  • Baiona was a hub of shipbuilding expertise, and this is one factor that drove innovation. Even by 1131, Baiona was building ships, an activity that only increased when Aquitaine became English in 1154 and the King of England gave the citizens of Baiona fishing and whaling rights in 1170.
  • In the 1100-1200s, the Basques began building cogs, also called cocas, which were inspired by northern cog-designed ships. In contrast, in the Mediterranean ships called caravels were more common.
  • One of the innovations that came from all of that activity was the Bayonne rudder. Northern ships tended to use a stern rudder, one that was in the back of the boat, but Mediterranean boats had a quarter rudder, or one that emanated from the side. The stern rudder was a significant improvement for maneuverability and also allowed for larger ship designs. 
  • These boats also employed another Northern European technology in how the hull was made. In the Mediterranean, people used the carvel technique in which the panels were mounted flush against one another. This led to a tighter seal against water but also required greater skill and time to make the interlocking plates. The Basques adopted the clinker technique used in the North in which the planks were overlaid on top of one another, much like roofing tiles. This was faster and required less precision.
  • Basque or Bayonnese cogs also were flatter in the hull so that they were better at transporting horses and thus better for military action where soldiers and their mounts had to be transported. They could also hold more cargo and thus had an advantage for trade.
  • The Basques employed a combination of iron nails and wooden treenails. Treenails were used in the north but were bad in the warmer souther waters where iron nails were used more. The Basques used both – iron for strength and treenails for flexibility. 
  • Basques also used a unique technique to shape their wood. They would shape the oak trees as they grew so that they had the form needed for the ship. This reduced joints and made elements stronger. This technique, called ipinabarres, also allowed people to better manage forest resources.
  • The strong Basque – or more specifically Baiona – shipbuilding tradition led to Basque shipwrights being recruited to places like England to build ships. The English were commissioning ships to be built in Baiona by as early as the 1200s. And, by 1294, Basques were in London building ships.
  • Basque innovation continued through the centuries. In the 1700s, for example, Antonio de Gaztañeta brought scientific principles to shipbuilding, which not only standardized design but also reduced waste. He redesigned the hull such that ships-of-the-line, the biggest ships at the time, had greater stability without sacrificing speed.
  • Albaola is a “sea factory” that is trying to revive the traditional shipbuilding practices of the Basques by reconstructing the San Juan, which was a whaling boat that sunk off the coast of Labrador.

A full list of all of Buber’s Basque Facts of the Week can be found in the Archive.

Primary sources: Zwick, Daniel: “Bayonese cogs, Genoese carracks, English dromons and Iberian carvels: Tracing technology transfer in medieval Atlantic shipbuilding”, Itsas Memoria. Revista de Estudios Marítimos del País Vasco, 8, Untzi Museoa-Museo Naval, Donostia-San Sebastián, 2016, pp. 647-680; Guided pollards in the Basque Country (Spain) during the Early Modern Ages by Alvaro Aragón Ruano

Fighting Basques

A Place to Remember: Gardnerville, Nevada, and the Future Home of the National Basque WWII Veterans Memorial

Leave a comment

by Sancho de Beurko Association

From Family Memory to National Recognition

For decades, the story of Basques and Basque Americans who served in the United States Armed Forces during World War II lived quietly within families and local communities — preserved in fading photographs, personal letters, and stories shared at kitchen tables, yet largely absent from the public historical landscape.

Today, that story is finally beginning to take physical form.

The Basque American community has officially announced both the location and the conceptual design of the National Basque World War II Veterans Memorial — the first national memorial in the U.S. dedicated exclusively to honoring WWII veterans of Basque origin.

The Memorial is a project of North American Basque Organizations, Inc. (N.A.B.O.), developed in close collaboration with the long‑term historical research initiative Fighting Basques: Memory of WWII, led by the Basque homeland association Sancho de Beurko. Together, these efforts seek not only to commemorate the past, but to bring into public view a long-overlooked chapter of American and Basque history.

A national fundraising campaign launched in 2024 supports both the continued historical research and the construction of the Memorial, with completion envisioned by the end of 2026.

The Legacy of the “Fighting Basques”

Years of archival research, oral history, and sustained collaboration with families have now made it possible to identify more than 2,150 men and women of Basque origin who served in the U.S. Armed Forces during WWII, including members of the U.S. Merchant Marine.

Geographic distribution of the “Fighting Basques” at the time of enlistment (via authors).

At the time of their enlistment, these veterans lived in thirty U.S. states, as well as Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico — covering nearly 60% of the United States’ territory. They served in every branch of the U.S. Armed Forces and in every theater of operations worldwide.

The majority were American born: approximately 85% were citizens by birth, mostly the children or grandchildren of Basque immigrants. Yet more than 260 veterans were born in the Basque Country itself, and others came from Basque communities across ten different countries, from Argentina and Mexico to the Philippines and the United Kingdom. Over half of these emigrants were not U.S. citizens when they enlisted.

Their paths to service were diverse, but their commitment was shared. Together, they represent an extraordinary and still underrecognized contribution to the history of World War II.

Gardnerville, Nevada: A Meaningful Home 

After an intensive year-long process of research, site visits, and deliberation, N.A.B.O. has announced that the Memorial will be built in Gardnerville, Nevada, at Heritage Park, located in the town’s historic downtown.

Aerial photo of Heritage Park, Gardnerville (Nevada), the future site of the National Basque WWII Veterans Memorial. (Courtesy of the Town of Gardnerville).

This location is deeply meaningful. Rooted in a rich immigrant past, Gardnerville has long been — and continues to be — an important center of Basque American life in Nevada. Founded in 1879, the town later became one of the state’s most significant sheep-raising hubs, sustained by a dense network of boardinghouses, hotels, bars, and restaurants that served generations of Basque sheepherders and their families.

Today, Gardnerville remains home to an active and engaged Basque community. With just over 6,200 residents, the town represents nearly 2% of Nevada’s Basque population and hosts the Mendiko Euskaldun Cluba. Since its founding in 1981, the club’s events and annual festivals have been widely attended, drawing participants from across the state and beyond, and serving as a regional reference point for Basque culture.

The Town of Gardnerville has also expressed its support for the Memorial project, recognizing its historical, cultural, and educational value for the community and working collaboratively with the organizers as the initiative moves forward.

Gardnerville is also closely linked to families whose wartime service became legendary—such as the Etchemendy brothers, often described as the most decorated group of brothers in Nevada. Born in Gardnerville to Basque immigrant parents, their names will soon return home, permanently engraved at the Memorial. 

Meet the Etchemendy brothers, from left to right: Leon (wearing an eye patch after being wounded at the Battle of Leyte), John, and William. (Courtesy of the Etchemendy family).

Bizi leku: A Place to Live, A Place to Remember

The Memorial’s conceptual design, titled Bizi leku — Basque for “The Place to Live” — was created by Basque architect Maider Bezos Lanz (BZS Architecture).

Constructed in Corten steel, the design evokes themes of migration, settlement, and belonging. It reflects the experience of adopting a new homeland while maintaining deep cultural roots—a defining feature of the Basque American story.

Frontal view of the memorial, designed by BZS Architecture. (All rights reserved©).

“Echoes of two wars, 1936-1945” aims to disseminate the stories of those Basques and Navarrese who participated in two of the warfare events that defined the future of much of the 20th century. With this blog, the intention of the Sancho de Beurko Association is to rescue from anonymity the thousands of people who constitute the backbone of the historical memory of the Basque and Navarre communities, on both sides of the Pyrenees, and their diasporas of emigrants and descendants, with a primary emphasis on the United States, during the period from 1936 to 1945.

Pedro J. Oiarzabal and Guillermo Tabernilla are the principal investigators of the research project “Fighting Basques: Basque Memory of World War II” of the Sancho de Beurko Elkartea in collaboration with the North American Basque Organizations (NABO). The present article derives from the “Fighting Basques” project.

Oiarzabal received his Doctorate of Political Science-Basque Studies from the University of Nevada, Reno. Over the last two decades, his work has focused on research and consulting on public policies (citizenship abroad and return), diasporas and new technologies, and social and historical memory (oral history, migration and exile), with special emphasis on the Basque case. He is a member of Eusko Ikaskuntza.

Tabernilla is a researcher and founder of the Sancho de Beurko Elkartea, a non-profit organization that studies the history of the Basques of both slopes of the Pyrenees in the Spanish Civil War and in World War II. Between 2008 and 2016 he directed the catalog of the “Iron Belt” for the Heritage Directorate of the Basque Government. He is author, along with Ander González, of Basque Fighters in World War II (Desperta Ferro, 2018).

“Bizi leku is conceived as a welcoming space,” explains Bezos Lanz. “A symbolic home that brings together all the names engraved on its surfaces, allowing them to coexist in peace and dignity — united by shared history and memory.”

The Memorial is envisioned not simply as a list of names, but as a living place of remembrance — one that honors individual lives, family histories, service, and sacrifice. A complementary digital memorial will provide access to biographies and educational resources, extending its reach far beyond the physical site.

Looking Ahead: A Shared Responsibility 

The National Basque WWII Veterans Memorial seeks to preserve the memory of an entire generation while offering visitors — Basque and non‑Basque alike — a space for reflection, learning, and gratitude.

“As a community, we are creating a permanent national place to remember, honor, and thank Basque veterans who proudly served during World War II,” says historian Dr. Pedro J. Oiarzabal, director of the Fighting Basques project. “It represents a long-overdue public recognition and a place of pride, service, and belonging — one that connects individual stories to our shared history, much like the National Monument to the Basque Sheepherder dedicated in Reno, Nevada, in 1989.”

The Memorial’s dedication is planned for no later than December 2026, coinciding with two significant anniversaries: the 85th anniversary of the U.S. entry into World War II and the 250th anniversary of American independence.

Yet this Memorial is not only about the past. It is about how memory is carried forward — through care, participation, and collective commitment — so that these stories remain present and meaningful for future generations.

The National Basque WWII Veterans Memorial will take shape through shared remembrance and community involvement. As the fundraising campaign continues, each contribution — large or small — helps transform memory into a lasting public space of recognition and gratitude.

In this way, the Memorial becomes more than a site or a structure. It becomes a place where history remains alive—because a community chooses to remember, together.

Basque Fact of the Week, Euskara

Basque Fact of the Week: The Basque-Iberian Connection

Leave a comment

The origins of the Basque language are lost to time, or so we are told. However, new discoveries such as the Hand of Irulegi challenge some of those assumptions and reveal new and exciting insight. At the same time, researchers continue to chip away, examining the body of evidence to further our understanding of the origins of the language and its possible connection to other languages. As a consequence, old theories such as the relationship between Basque and Iberian are getting a new look.

The Hand of Irulegi, which contains inscriptions that further support the connection between Basque and Iberian. Image from Wikimedia Commons.
  • The central tenant of the Basque-Iberian hypothesis is that the various tribes that inhabited the Iberian peninsula before the arrival of the Romans spoke a language or collection of languages that were related to Basque. When the Romans came, most of those tribes became latinized and the only remnant of that family of languages is Basque.
  • This theory had its heyday between the 1500s and 1700s. The basis for the original theory was from the historian Flavius ​​Josephus (1st century AD), who said that Tubal, grandson of Noah, founded the people of the “Tubeli, who are now called Iberians.”
  • With time, the Basque-Iberian theory lost favor, as modern Basque is of little help in deciphering the few Iberian texts that have survived to present day. Further, Basque-Iberian advocates pushed their ideas too far, to suggest that many Italian place names could be interpreted this way, for example. And, as with all things Basque, politics inserted itself. People argued that there was no way that Basque was an indigenous language to the peninsula, attacking the historical basis of the language as a way to undermine the fueros. However, perhaps the biggest problem with the Basque-Iberian theory is that, while some words seem recognizable from a Basque perspective, the overall meaning of the texts is undecipherable, meaning we can’t use Basque to understand those texts.
  • On the other hand, there is evidence that suggests the languages are linked. There are names that are similar in the two languages, for example Araxes/Araiza and Ararat/Aralar. And there are non-linguistic traits that suggest a connection, including that both cultures used horned headdresses. The theory regained respect when scholar of the Basque language Wilhelm von Humboldt argued that Iberian place-names could be divided into two families: one with a Celtic origin and another that “follows the phonetic system of the Basque language.”
  • More recently, researchers like Eduardo Orduña Aznar and Joan Ferrer I Jané have delved further into the relationship between Basque and Iberian. They have found that, for example, the number systems are very similar (here the Iberian word is in bold and the Basque word in italics): ban bat (one), bi bi (two), laur lau(four), borste bost (five), okrei hogei (twenty), orkeiborste hogei ta bost (twenty-five). As the last example demonstrates, the two languages seem to compose larger numbers in a similar way.
  • Orduña has expanded his analysis to consider kinship terms. For example, he finds possible connections ata aita (father), uni(n)unide (wet nurse), -kidei -(k)ide (companion), amongst others. Beyond word similarities, he argues the two grammars are related. Both use the suffix -en to denote possession. Finally, there is a word on the Hand of Irulegi that says efaukon, which is similar to an archaic Basque word meaning “he/she gave.”
  • Orduña is careful to say that his analysis is no proof that the two languages are linked. However, he concludes that there are enough similarities and evidence to suggest a link and that warrants further research.

A full list of all of Buber’s Basque Facts of the Week can be found in the Archive.

Primary sources: Estornés Zubizarreta, Idoia. VASCO-IBERISMO. Auñamendi Encyclopedia. Available at: https://aunamendi.eusko-ikaskuntza.eus/en/vasco-iberismo/ar-130027/; New Connections Discovered Between the Ancient Iberian Language and Basque, Beyond Numbers by Guillermo Carvajal, La Brújula Verde; One of Europe’s Most Mysterious Languages May Share Ancient Roots with Iberian by Oguz Kayra, Arkeonews

Diaspora, Fighting Basques

A Historic Announcement for the Basque American Community: February 13-14 in South San Francisco

Leave a comment

by Sancho de Beurko Association

On Friday, February 13, and Saturday, February 14, the Basque American community and guests will gather at the Basque Cultural Center of South San Francisco for a deeply meaningful occasion: the official announcement of the city and architectural design of the National Basque World War II Veterans Memorial. 

These events take place within a very special context—the celebration of the 44th anniversary of the Basque Cultural Center, an institution that for more than four decades has served as a cornerstone of Basque cultural life, memory, and community in the United States. Framing the Memorial announcement within this anniversary highlights the continuity between past, present, and future that defines this moment.

Image: illustrative concept only; the final memorial design will be unveiled at the event on February 14.

A weekend of remembrance, gratitude, and shared purpose

The weekend will include two complementary events.

On Friday, February 13, a private donor appreciation dinner will recognize those who have helped bring the Memorial project to this important stage. The dinner is hosted by the North American Basque Organizations, Inc. (N.A.B.O.), the group leading the effort to build the Memorial.

On Saturday, February 14, a public presentation will take place at 2:00 p.m. The presentation will be delivered by Dr. Pedro J. Oiarzabal, historian and research project director, who will publicly unveil both the host city and the design concept of the National Basque World War II Veterans Memorial, marking a major milestone in the project’s development. This talk is free and open to everyone. Seating is limited, so early arrival is encouraged.

For the first time, the National Basque WWII Veterans Memorial moves from vision to place—anchored in a specific landscape and shaped by a design conceived as a permanent space of remembrance, education, and public history.

Honoring lives, stories, and living memory

The Memorial honors more than 2,150 WWII veterans of Basque descent who served in the United States Armed Forces, including the Merchant Marines—most were children of immigrants, whose service has often remained absent from broader national narratives.

This history is not distant or abstract. It is still embodied today in living memory. Among those we honor are two centenarian women veterans, Basque Californian Anna Biscay and Basque Idahoan Regina Bastida, both 104 years old, whose remarkable lives and service remind us that this project is ultimately about people—about courage, resilience, and devotion to duty. Their stories, like so many others, give a human face to the history the Memorial seeks to preserve, and continue to inspire new generations. 

Anna Biscay (left) and Regina Bastida, two centenarian women veterans of Basque descent, both 104 years old, whose lives and service reflect the living memory the Memorial seeks to preserve. (Biscay photo via authors; Bastida photo via Library of Congress, 2013).

“Echoes of two wars, 1936-1945” aims to disseminate the stories of those Basques and Navarrese who participated in two of the warfare events that defined the future of much of the 20th century. With this blog, the intention of the Sancho de Beurko Association is to rescue from anonymity the thousands of people who constitute the backbone of the historical memory of the Basque and Navarre communities, on both sides of the Pyrenees, and their diasporas of emigrants and descendants, with a primary emphasis on the United States, during the period from 1936 to 1945.

THE AUTHORS
Guillermo Tabernilla is a researcher and founder of the Sancho de Beurko Association, a non-profit organization that studies the history of the Basques and Navarrese from both sides of the Pyrenees in the Spanish Civil War and in World War II. He is currently their secretary and community manager. He is also editor of the digital magazine Saibigain. Between 2008 and 2016 he directed the catalog of the “Iron Belt” for the Heritage Directorate of the Basque Government and is, together with Pedro J. Oiarzabal, principal investigator of the Fighting Basques Project, a memory project on the Basques and Navarrese in the Second World War in collaboration with the federation of Basque Organizations of North America.

Pedro J. Oiarzabal is a Doctor in Political Science-Basque Studies, granted by the University of Nevada, Reno (USA). For two decades, his work has focused on research and consulting on public policies (citizenship abroad and return), diasporas and new technologies, and social and historical memory (oral history, migration and exile), with special emphasis on the Basque case. He is the author of more than twenty publications. He has authored the blog “Basque Identity 2.0” by EITB and “Diaspora Bizia” by EuskalKultura.eus. On Twitter @Oiarzabal.

Josu M. Aguirregabiria is a researcher and founder of the Sancho de Beurko Association and is currently its president. A specialist in the Civil War in Álava, he is the author of several publications related to this topic, among which “La batalla de Villarreal de Álava” (2015) y “Seis días de guerra en el frente de Álava. Comienza la ofensiva de Mola” (2018) stand out.

A milestone for collective memory

Since the inauguration of the National Monument to the Basque Sheepherder in 1989, the Basque community has not had the opportunity to take part in a national initiative of this scale—one dedicated to recognizing its wartime service and shared sacrifice on American soil.

The National Basque WWII Veterans Memorial is not conceived merely as a list of names, but as a space that acknowledges lives, families, migration journeys, and a shared sense of responsibility shaped by war.

An invitation to be part of history

As the project enters this new phase, community participation remains essential. This Memorial is the result of a collective effort—one that depends on individuals, families, and organizations who believe that this history deserves a permanent place in the American landscape.

Supporting the Memorial—whether through donations, sharing its story, or participating in upcoming events—means taking part in a historic moment.

Those who wish to support the Memorial may do so through our secure online donation page:

https://my.cheddarup.com/c/national-basque-wwii-veterans-memorial/items

If you prefer to contribute by check, donations may be sent to:

N.A.B.O. WWII Veterans Memorial Fund
c/o Mayi Petracek
11971 S. Allerton Cir
Parker, CO 80138

Additional information about the Memorial and the campaign can be found here:

https://nabasque.eus/wwii_memorial.html

Your contribution to support the Memorial is tax-deductible Educational Fund of North American Basque Organizations Inc. (EIN: 82-0489192). All donors making a donation in excess of $1,000 will be publicly recognized on a Donor wall unless they choose otherwise.

The February 13–14 events are more than an announcement—they are an invitation to take part in a historic moment, and to help shape a memorial that belongs to us all.

Together, we can ensure that the service and sacrifice of WWII veterans of Basque descent are honored, remembered, and passed on to future generations.

Basque Fact of the Week, History

Basque Fact of the Week: The College of Biscayan Navigators of Cádiz

Leave a comment

“The people of Biscay are excellent in the art of navigation, pilots and warriors, … in handling maritime affairs, where all of them, without exception, prove to be excellent pilots and skilled in the art of soldiery, attacking armed enemies with the same ferocity as the violent fury of the terrifying onslaughts of the Atlantic Ocean (…)”
Giovanni Botero (1544-1617)

“The people of these provinces are quick-tempered and swift, passionate and warlike; they are the best people in the world for the sea.”
Martín Fdz de Enciso, Suma de Cosmografía, 1519.

This is how the Basques and their association with the sea have been described by historians. Perhaps no better testament to the maritime proficiency of the Basques is the College of Biscayan Navigators in the city of Cádiz.

The island-city of Cádiz today. Image from Gilmar.
  • Basque maritime history goes back at least as far as 1131, when Alfonso the Battler, King of Navarre and Aragon, is documented as building ships in Baiona. In 1191, Richard the Lionheart embarked during the Fourth Crusade with a fleet of Basque-Gascon ships. Not only were Basques important mariners, but they had made significant developments to ship technology, including the Bayonne rudder, or baionnoiz.
  • By the end of the 1200s, the Basques had important roles in the commerce of Europe. They had established trade with Bruges and were instrumental in transporting goods, primarily iron, in Andalucía. Basque maritime expertise was also used in the reconquest of Andalucía from the Moors, especially the siege of Sevilla. As a result, villages such as Getaria were granted exceptions in how much tax they had to pay in Sevilla for goods sold.
  • After the reconquest of Andalucía and Gibraltar, Basque ships were frequent in the Mediterranean. A century earlier, after Cádiz had been retaken, the city was a shambles with few inhabitants after the Muslims had been expelled. Basques and others from the Cantabrian coast were a major part of the resettlement. These new inhabitants were granted special legal and commercial privileges to encourage settlement and economic growth. Cádiz’s strategic location meant that it became a key stop for merchant fleets going from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic and beyond.
  • Basques were valued as pilots, as leaders of the ships, a position that had many demands: They had to possess courage, audacity, and fortitude in the storms and dangers of the sea, and also the courage to attack and defend themselves against enemies. They had to pass an exam and had to master the use of the astrolabe, the compass, and nautical charts. 
  • At one point, Basques had a monopoly on piloting ships past the Strait of Gibraltar from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic. Ships would have to stop in Cádiz and take on a pilot to lead them west.
  • All of this is a backdrop to the College of Biscayan Navigators that was founded in Cádiz. Not much is known about the College. The College is attested to in 1500, however it must have been founded long before that – there is some hint that it could have ben established in the 1200 or 1300s. And a brotherhood of Basque sailors in Cádiz is mentioned in around 1403. They seem to have met in a chapel that they built in the old cathedral of the city, Santa Cruz in Cádiz. The college disappeared around 1583.
  • Very little is known about its function either. It is thought that it was a technical-scientific-commercial institution, where knowledge of navigation was imparted. More than a formal school, it was a guild that still enjoyed sanction by the crown. Navigators such as Elkano and those that made their way to Iceland and beyond may have learned there. The lack of records of voyages was despite the decree by law that pilots keep logbooks of their journeys. The Basques kept their secrets.

A full list of all of Buber’s Basque Facts of the Week can be found in the Archive.

Primary sources: El Colegio de Pilotos Vizcaínos de Cádiz. La otra historia marítima de los vascos: del Mare Nostrum al Pacífico by Fernando Txueka Isasti, in Itsas memoria: Revista de Estudios Marítimos del País Vasco.

Basque Fact of the Week, Books, People

Basque Fact of the Week: Poet Gabriel Aresti

Leave a comment

Not growing up in the Basque Country and not being exposed to the history and culture on a daily basis, there is so much I simply don’t know, so many figures that made an impact on the culture that I’ve never heard of. Gabriel Aresti is one of those. While I’ve heard his name in connection with a poem or song, I had little appreciation for his contributions. And, with so many things associated with the Basque Country, Aresti as a figure is complicated. His importance to Basque culture is undeniable but his politics make him controversial for some.

The poet Gabriel Aresti. Photo from Onda Vasca.
  • Gabriel Aresti Segurola was born on October 14, 1933 in Bilbo. While his father spoke Euskara, he only did so with Gabriel’s grandparents, so Gabriel grew up with Spanish as his first language. However, he learned Euskara on his own, starting when he was 12 years old, and he wrote primarily in Basque.
  • When he was 21 years old, he published his first poems in “Euzko-Gogoa” in Guatemala. He soon became known to the Basque public and by 1957 was a correspondent for Euskaltzaindia, the Basque Language Academy. A few years later he began winning prizes for his work, first for his poem “Maldan behera” and then his play Mugaldeko herrian eginikako tobera.
  • Aresti is most well known for his works Harri eta Herri (Stone and Country, 1964), Euskal Harria (The Basque Stone, 1968) and Harrizko Herri Hau (This Country of Stone, 1971). This series of “stone” (harri) works, linking stones to the Basque people and culture, delves into the lives of the people of the Basque Country. His poems, which “take place in an urban environment and are written in free verse” were praised for “their modernity, innovative spirit and their left-wing humanism” (source). Perhaps his most famous poem “Nire aitaren etxea” appears in Harri eta Herri. Because of his controversial ideology, it took some time for Aresti to find a publisher for Harri eta Herri. 
  • In addition to his original works, Aresti also made significant contributions to Basque literature through translation. He translated the works of several authors to Basque, including Federico García Lorca, T. S. Eliot and Giovanni Boccaccio. Anecdotally, he was working on a translation of James Joyce‘s Ulysses when the Guardia Civil raided his home and confiscated the manuscript – it was never seen again.
  • Aresti became a major proponent for the unification of the Basque language. He used both colloquial language and an early form of a unified Euskara in his works.
  • Near the end of his life, he became a publisher, establishing the publishing house Lur. Several important Basque authors got their start with Lur, including Ramon Saizarbitoria, Arantxa Urretabizkaia or Xabier Lete. However, Aresti’s own work, Kaniko eta Beltxitina, was censored by his colleagues and friends at Lur and so he broke his association with the publisher.
  • His ideas, often sympathetic with communism and class struggle, put him at odds with both Franco’s regime and with the nationalist parts of Basque society. For example, one of his talks was interrupted by a group of young Basque nationalists who accused him of diluting the Basque nationalist struggle by promoting a more general class struggle. He became strongly associated with communism, which for some tarnished his contributions. 
  • He died in 1975 at the age of 41.
  • Some of his work has been translated into English.

A full list of all of Buber’s Basque Facts of the Week can be found in the Archive.

Primary sources: Gabriel Aresti, Wikipedia; Gabriel Aresti, Wikipedia