Random

The Crime of Old Blas, Part III, by Catulle Mendes

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I found this searching for old texts related to the Basque Country. This story is set in the Basque Country, though that is the only Basque connection of the story. But, it also features two characters named Blas, so I had a particular affinity to it. Part I was posted here and Part II here.

The Crime of Old Blas

by

Catulle Mendes

Part III: The End of the Story of the Little Boy Who Had No Ears, and of the Black Dog Who Smoked His Pipe

He did not return. He crossed the plain, climbed the mountain, slept a sleep full of horrible dreams under a projecting rock, and on awakening, fled again. He feared that he was not far enough away from that river that had taken away his child, from that dear farm-house where now they only wept.

With a few sous that he found in his pockets, he bought some food while passing through a village. People were afraid of him, because he was very pale and was continually looking back, like one who is afraid of being followed. A woman who was sowing corn, seeing him begin to run when he had passed the last house in the village, said to herself, “One would say that that old man had just done something wicked.”

The next day he came to another valley where nobody knew him, because in the Basque country the mountains are frontiers that are seldom passed. As he had only a dozen sous left, he asked a man who was breaking stones on the road if he could not be employed in that work.

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Random

The Crime of Old Blas, Part II, by Catulle Mendes

1 Comment

I found this searching for old texts related to the Basque Country. This story is set in the Basque Country, though that is the only Basque connection of the story. But, it also features two characters named Blas, so I had a particular affinity to it. Part I was posted here and Part III will be coming soon.

The Crime of Old Blas

by

Catulle Mendes

Part II: The Story of the Little Boy Who Had No Ears, and of the Black Dog Who Smoked His Pipe

“Once upon a time–”

“Where?”

“In a country. Once upon a time, there was a man and his wife, peasants, as we are, but much more unfortunate — a man and his wife to whom nothing ever happened, except that very frequently they had no bread for supper before going to sleep.”

“But soup?”

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People, Photos

Hand-forged Knives by Andy “the Basco” Franco

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Visitors to Buber’s Basque Page likely already know Andy Franco.  Since discovering his Basque roots, he has been very involved in the Boise Basque community.  Owner of Calico Forge and Knife Company, Andy has weaved his Basque heritage into his work.  He made the replica harpoons that were featured in the Boise Basque Museum’s exhibit on Basque whaling and he also created the amazing lauburu that he donated for the 2008 dinner/fundraiser for the Boise Basque Museum and Cultural Center.

His focus more recently has been knives, as evident by his company website.  New Mexico Euskal Etxea asked Andy if he would be interested and able to donate something for our own fundraiser, a Tapas and Wine event to be held on June 19.  Andy seized the opportunity to take his knife-making in a direction he’d been thinking about for some time: kitchen knives.  He made two beautiful knives, pictured below, that he generously donated to NMEE.  He also made an iron stone hunter knife, also pictured (with the rougher-decorated blade).  All three pieces are wonderful.  We thank Andy for his generosity in sharing his amazing skills with us.

today in basque history

Today in Basque History: Death of Henry II King of Navarre

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1555: Henry II, king of Nafarroa, dies. His father, John III or Jean d’Albret, had been defeated in 1512 by Ferdinand II of Aragon, both of whom had claimed the throne of Nafarroa. After that defeated, that portion of Nafarroa south fo the Pyrenees was annexed by Ferdinand while what became Nafarroa Beherea stayed in the House of d’Albert. Henry II tried to recapture the throne, but was unsuccessful. He was later taken prisoner at the Battle of Pavia during the Italian wars, though he escaped under disguise. As King, he restored the Parliament and other Nafarroan institutions in Nafarroa Beherea. He was married to the celebrated Marguerite de Valois. His daughter, Queen Jeanne III, converted to Calvinism and promoted a translation of the Bible into Basque, one of the first works in the language. Her son, Henry IV King of France, was the first of the Bourbon kings.

today in basque history

Today in Basque History: Salt Riots, Amorebieta Agreement

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1634: In the early morning, six rebels involved in the Salt Uprising, riots in Bizkaia protesting a salt tax imposed by Philip IV, are arrested, including their leader Juan de Larrabaster. They are tried and executed that same day. The salt tax had greatly affected the cod trade, of great importance to Bizkaia.

1872: The Amorebieta Agreement is signed, bringing peace to Nafarroa and the Basque Country, at least for a short time, after Carlos VII flees into France after a defeat at Oroquieta earlier in the month. Francisco Serrano represents the government and Fausto Urquizu and Juan E. Orue the Carlists. The Agreement promises, amongst other things, amnesty to the Carlists. However, later that year, the Third Carlist War erupts, ending in 1876 with the final defeat of Carlos.

Books, People, Sports

Steven Skiena: Betting on Jai Alai

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Holly Emblem is the editor of CasinoOnline.co.uk. They recently published an interview with Steven Skiena, author of Calculated Bets. Skiena, a Professor of Computer Science at the State University of New York, is also a fan of jai alai, a passion he picked up during a family vacation to Florida when he was a kid.  As noted in the interview, “From early teenage invention Clyde, to the jai alai betting machine that is Maven, Skiena book charts an arduous journey of applying mathematics to gambling.”

I haven’t read the book, but it certainly seems interesting.  Skiena focuses on gambling as it relates to sports and says “if you don’t understand the mathematics, you shouldn’t gamble,” which makes a great deal of sense.  His passion for jai alai certainly intrigues me.  I’ll be looking for his book.

Eskerrik asko, Holly!

Books, Folklore

New Book: Spanish and Basque Legends

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Richard Marsh’s imprint, Legendary Books, has just released it’s newest title, Spanish and Basque Legends.  Focused mostly on Spanish legends, including El Cid, Fernán González, and The Seven Princes of Lara, it also includes a number of Basque tales. All told, 76 stories are featured, including The Jaun Zuria Cycle:

  • Jaun Zuria – The Golden-haired Lord
  • The Death of Lekobide
  • The Death of Munso López
  • The Goat-foot Lady

For more information, including how to purchase the book, check out Richard’s website.

today in basque history

Today in Basque History: Charles IV of Nafarroa, Miners strike, Jon Bilbao dies, First woman president

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1453: After being imprisoned for more than two years after his defeat in his quest to claim his throne from his father, Charles IV of Nafarroa is set free after his father, John II, is pressured by deputies of the Kingdom of Aragon. Charles tries again to claim his throne and is again defeated and imprisoned, though is freed again after the Catalonians revolt in protest. At that time, he is made governor of Catalonia, but soon dies, possibly of poison. During his time in prison, he writes the Chronicle of Navarre, the primary source on the history of the lineage of the kings of Nafarroa.

1890: Miners in Bilbao, having striked against their employers because of bad working conditions (sleeping in barracks, often three to a bed; work hours from dawn to dusk; forced to buy food from the companies; irregular pay), return to work. With the police unable to stop the strike, which eventually comprised 28,000 workers, 16,000 of which were miners, the military had been called in, under the command of General Loma, who established the “pacto de Loma” which improved some of the working conditions. However, the failure of the companies to observe these conditions led to subsequent strikes.

1994: Jon Manuel Bilbao Azkarreta who, along with William A. Douglass, founded the Basque Studies Program (later to be known as the Center for Basque Studies) at the University of Nevada, Reno, dies in Vitoria-Gasteiz. His many accomplishments include building the Basque Studies Program Library; founding Eusko Bibliographia (the Institute of Basque Bibliography) and Harriluze, an institute dedicated to the study of the Basque diaspora; and the books Eusko Bibliographia, Los Vascos en Cuba, and Amerikanuak: Basques in the New World (with William A. Douglass).

2005: Izaskun Bilbao Barandika, born in Bermeo, is elected President of the Basque Parliament, the first woman to hold that post in the history of that body.

today in basque history

Today in Basque History: Siege of Zaragoza, Guerrillas against Napoleon, Basque opera

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1118: The forces of Alfonso the Battler, King of Aragon and Nafarroa, besiege Zaragoza in an effort to reconquer the city from the Moors. After a siege of nine months, the city falls to Alfonso, who promptly makes Zaragoza the capital of Aragon.

1809: Mariano Renovales Revollar, soldier from Bizkaia, organizes a guerrilla campaign in the Nafarroan Roncal and defeats the troops of General D’Agoult of Napoleon’s army. He later participated in a plot to restore the Constitution of 1812 and had to flee Bilbao, ultimately landing first in New Orleans, where he published his celebrated Manifesto, and then Havana, where, after an argument with an official, he was imprisoned and later died.

1920: The opera Amaya, composed by Jesus Guridi Bidaola, premieres at the Coliseo Albia in Bilbao. Accompanied by the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra and the Bilbao Choral Society (led by Juan de Grignon Lamote), Amaya is considered the greatest opera of Basque musical nationalism. Guridi would use themes of Basque folklore in his operettas El Caserio (1926) and Mari Eli (1936).

today in basque history

Today in Basque History: Death of a korrikalari, Children refugees, World’s best female climber

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1922: Jacinto Etxenagusia races against the Franco-Belgian Leon De Nys along the famous 13 kilometer Zarauz-Aia route, the setting for countless numbers of wagers. Etxenagusia had earlier beat Vicente Erro, who had covered the Tolosa-Pamplona-Tolosa course, 125 kilometers, in just over 15 hours. However, De Nys was a professional runner with excellent times on the track in Paris. At 11:30 in the morning, under a relentless sun, Jacinto Etxenagusia sets off. The Belgian follows three minutes and forty-five seconds later. De Nys takes 54 minutes and five seconds to run the 13 kilometres separating the two towns. Etxenagusia drops panting to the wayside. He died two days later after intense suffering. This type of race, between two Korrikalaris for wagers, was common in the Basque Country until the 1970s.

1937: The ship Habana leaves Santurtzi for England with about 4000 children, refugees from the Spanish Civil War. It first stops in Stoneham, with the hope that the children would later be distributed by various reception centers. However, the stay at Stoneham is longer than expected, with the children sheltered in some 250 tents, prepared by the Basque Children’s Committee. They are latter scattered across the whole of Britain.

1998: Josune Bereziartu becomes the first woman to climb an 8c, the Honky Tonky of Araotz, in Onati. Born in Lazkao, Gipuzkoa, in 1972, she is recognized as the best female climber in the world. In 2002, she established a new women’s world record, ascending the Swiss Bain du sang, with a difficulty of 9a. She blogs about her experiences at http://www.climbing.com/exclusive/problog/josune/