Tag Archives: boise

Basque Fact of the Week: Txorizo (Chorizo) and Txistorra

About the time I went off to college, my dad started making his own chorizo. He’d send me off with packages of frozen sausage – at the time, he’d pack them in a cut up milk jug filled with water and freeze them. So, I’d have rows and rows of chorizo that I’d broken free […]

Making Basque Identity Cool: An Interview with John Ysursa

John Ysursa is near-omnipresent in the Basque community of the United States. He’s seemingly at every festival, he’s a central part of Boise State University’s Basque program, and he has authored a book on Basque dance. His enthusiasm for all things Basque – particularly how to get others excited about the Basque culture – is […]

Basque Fact of the Week: The Basque History of Boise

Boise, Idaho, is one of the centers of Basque culture in the United States. The home of the Basque Block, which features the Boise Basque Center, the Basque Museum and Cultural Center, a fronton, the Basque Market, and the restaurants Bar Gernika and Leku Ona, it is also home to the Oinkari Basque Dancers and […]

Basque Fact of the Week: Jaialdi!

As you’ve probably heard by now, 2020 is a Jaialdi year! Jaialdi, which means festival in Euskara, is the biggest Basque festival in the United States, possibly the biggest outside of the Basque Country. It is held every five years at the end of July, the weekend of San Ignacio. The first Jaialdi was held […]

Basque Fact of the Week: Oinkaris, the Basque Dancers of Boise

Dance is such a key component of Basque culture, especially for those living in the diaspora, where it is a central aspect of Basque identity. Almost all Basque kids who grow up in Basque-rich communities spend a few years in a dance group. I spent a few years in Caldwell’eko Eusko Dantzariak, started in 1980 […]

Making Dreams Come True: An Interview with Argia Beristain

I’ve known Argia Beristain for about 20 years now, having first met her during our joint activities in the Seattle Euskal Etxea. She has since moved back and forth between the two coasts of the United States and has been extremely active in promoting Basque culture, culminating in the Basque Soccer Friendly that was held […]

Boise Basque Soccer Friendly nearly here!

The Boise Basque Soccer Friendly, the match between Athletic Bilbao and Club Tijuana, is nearly here! Originally scheduled for July 29, it was moved up to July 18 so Bilbao could participate in the qualifiers for the Europa League. The famous blue astroturf at Boise State’s stadium has been covered with lush green grass. In […]

Basque Soccer Friendly Store Opening

While the ultimate fate of the Basque Soccer Friendly, to be held on July 30 in Boise, rests on the performance of Athletic Bilbao this weekend against Barcelona, one thing that is not in doubt is that you’ll still be able to get your Basque Soccer Friendly gear! A retail space is opening up on […]

Success places Boise Basque Soccer Friendly in jeopardy

After all of the work that the organizers have put into arranging the Basque Soccer Friendly, scheduled to take place on July 29 in Boise, what might actually cause the biggest hiccup is Athletic Bilbao’s own success. They finished 7th in the Spanish League, meaning they qualify for the qualifiers of the Europa League, the […]

Berriak for February, 2015

Here is a round-up of a few items I thought were notable. Inaki Williams became the first black player to score a goal for Athletic Bilbao in their 117 year history. You may know that Athletic Bilbao only recruits Basque players, players from the Basque Country. Inaki was born in Bilbao to parents from Ghana and […]