When I first visited the Basque Country, back in 1991, one of the things that was immediately very clear was the rivalry between Bilbao and Donostia. Donostia was the elegant city with the beautiful beaches. Bilbao was the industrial powerhouse that had suffered for that industry, with a dirty river and generally unappealing character. Since […]
I’m trying to get caught up on my email and am finally getting to some news that I should have shared months ago… My apologies to those who alerted me to these. First, a little-known but interesting side story to the history of the United States. During the time that the fledgling country was developing […]
(I couldn’t resist the pun.) Some big news for the Basque Country’s biggest cities. First, Donostia has been chosen, along with Wroclaw, Poland, as one of the two European Capitals of Culture in 2016. EiTB has the news here. This means that for the year of 2016, Donostia will host events that highlight Europe’s cultural […]
My friend, Gonzalo Aranguren, who wrote this Nor Naiz, Gu Gara entry, has a fascinating history. He is one of those rare people who is American-Basque, rather than Basque-American. That is, his mother is American, but he was born and raised in the Basque Country, though he has spent a lot of time in the […]
Unfortunately, I’ve been too swamped with work to keep up with the Today in Basque History articles. I’ll do them as I get a chance, and hopefully fill in missing days in future years. If anyone would like to assist me in this endeavor, please feel free to contact me. 1364: The Battle of Cocherel […]
1225: William, viscount of Bearn, Gabarret, and Brulhois and lord of Moncada and Castelvieil, signs an agreement with the future Theobald I of Nafarroa, Count of Champagne, to ensure him the throne of Nafarroa on the death of his uncle, Sancho the Strong. 1932: The first Aberri Eguna, or Basque National Day, is celebrated in […]
I just saw this on Google Alerts and thought it was great. Whiskey Daredevils, a band out of Cleveland, I think, just toured Europe and their last show was opening for Berri Txarrak in Bilbao. They posted about their last show in Bilbao, which was a while ago in May, on the Cleveland Scene website […]