Tag Archives: venezuela

Basque Fact of the Week: Txomin Letamendi – Musician, Soldier, Spy

Hard times brings out the best and worst in people, pushing them in directions they may never have ever imagined. Such is the case of Txomin Letamendi. An extremely talented musician, the Spanish Civil War and its aftermath pushed him to become first a soldier and then a spy for the Basque government in exile, […]

Random Bits of Basqueness

Just got back from a great trip to Costa Rica, where we encountered a few Basque names (though not as many as I might have expected): Soul’s Beauty by Ana Mendieta, Lubricentro y Repuestos Chaverri, Bolívares from the República Bolivariana de Venezuela (Bolibar is a Basque name, and both are named after Simón Bolívar), Ferretería […]

A Basque Doctor Without Borders

A Basque doctor without borders The life of Gonzalo Aranguren Sabas as recounted by his grandson Gontzal Aranguren Laflin Gonzalo Aranguren Sabas (Bilbao 1903-Hondarribia 1974) was a man of many qualities worthy of mention and whose memory is his best legacy, not only for all his descendants but also for all those who associated with […]

Basque Fact of the Week: Basques and Chocolate

As in many places, chocolate is a big part of Basque life. On birthdays, instead of the birthday cake familiar in the United States, Basques often drink a cup of liquid chocolate. It wasn’t so long ago, in the early 1800s, that chocolate was a common part of breakfast in the Basque Country. It was […]