Tag Archives: lehendakari

Basque Fact of the Week: José Antonio Aguirre y Lecube, the First Basque President

Today, the three Basque provinces of Araba, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa form the Basque Autonomous Community (BAC), a political entity within Spain that is led by the Lehendakari, or President, of the BAC. However, if we look back in time, the first Lehendakari presided over a very different government. The first Basque government was formed from […]

Basque Fact of the Week: The Tree of Gernika

The Tree of Gernika is one of the most iconic symbols of the Basque Country, featuring prominently on the coats-of-arms of the province of Bizkaia and thus of Euskal Herria. The fueros of Bizkaia specifically call out the tree as the place where people came to meet and any Bizkaian captured for any crime had […]

Images from Jaialdi

Jaialdi is in the books, already 2 weeks past, and I thought I’d share a few photos and moments from the festival. For me and my family, Jaialdi began with a visit to the Basque Block on Wednesday, when we quickly ran into some old friends from our Seattle days. On Thursday, I attended a […]

The Tree of Gernika to be replaced

The famous Tree of Gernika, Gernikako Arbola, has died, and will be replaced next month. The tree is a symbol of Basque independence and freedom. Before the wars during which the Basque fueros, or old laws, were slowly eroded, kings came to the tree to swear their respect of Basque liberties. Today, the Lehendakari, or […]