A Basque in Boise

8 Probintziak, the radio station on Basque diaspora, will celebrate its 8th year on the air on Sunday, May 5, with a special program featuring many guests and a few surprises.

Benoit Etcheverry Macazaga, a Basque native from Iparralde, started the program in 2004 and ran it until 2007, when he took on some other projects – always related to the Basque diaspora. Benoit had hoped for the radio show to continue airing, but nobody picked it up. This is why, five years later, he decided to bring the program back. 8 Herrialdeak Zuzenean airs from 8:00 to 9:30 pm (Basque Country time).

April’s program focused on Basque economy with guests such as Jean Michel Larrasquet, from Mondragon Group, Xabi Camino, who talked about the Eusko (new currency for the Basque Country), Pierre Mendiboure or Jérôme Lesparre.

Check out the 8 Probintziak archives for previous editions of the program, or visit and like their Facebook page to keep in touch.

What a great way to start the morning, reading about a free app which lets you discover and roam around the best city in the word, Bilbao, and free of charge! It’s only available for Android mobile phones at the moment, but the iOS version of the App is not too far out – maybe as soon as this summer.

Ilike Bilbao Guide is the most comprehensive Bilbao guide for mobile phones and tablets. It’s a free guide that provides all the information needed to make your visit to the city a unique experience, and it is available for download at the Google Play store in three languages: Basque, Spanish and English.

It’s a completely offline guide (all application data is stored in the phone) that visitors can use to read about the most interesting places in Bilbao without requiring an internet connection, which is especially useful for foreign tourists. The download is approximately 18 Mb and it’s suitable for any smartphone with Android 1.3 or higher.

Thanks to a permanent location feature (via GPS), and a higher zoom level than other mobile guides to Bilbao, “Ilike Bilbao Guide” offers visitors a full experience and a first class service. When using the map, users can activate several layers: Visits, Food, Shopping, Activities and Information. Each of these categories is divided further into subcategories enabling the user to easily sort through all the information.

It has more than 200 sheets, all of which include photos, descriptions, a star-based score, telephone numbers, opening times and a button to share the information on several social networks. The user can include his visits, shopping or activities in a layer called “Favorites”, creating a layer that only includes the visits of his choice and easily personalizing his visit to Bilbao.

Related posts

• Basque firm to launch app to play txalaparta on iPhone
• New app “Euskal Gabon kantak” now available for Android phones
• Essential: The ultimate guide to the Basque Country now available for Apple and Android devices
• Writing in Basque: Tools to get you there

If you can make it, Elko is the place to be on March 9-10th!

On Saturday, March 9th, the Elko Euzkaldunak will be hosting its annual Sheepherder’s Ball at 9pm at the clubhouse (1601 Flagview, Elko). The cost is $10 and music is being provided by Jean Flesher.

On Sunday the 10th, the club will host its Mus tournament, again at the clubhouse, with registration beginning at 9 am.

For more information on these and other events visit them on Facebook at Elko Euzkaldunak or follow them in Twitter.

Come by the Basque Center on February 7 for a fundraiser benefiting the Basque Museum and Cultural Center’s Expanding Horizons Campaign. See a sneak preview performance of Trey McIntyre’s Arrantza, part of their February 16 Spring Show. They will also welcome the Oinkari Basque Dancers as part of the celebration.

Wine, paella and dance … come Basque in the fun and go behind the scenes of Arrantza!

First Thursday, February 7, 5:30 pm
Tickets are $40 each, $140 for four—wine and paella included
Call the Basque Museum at 208-343-2671 for tickets and reservations.
 

 

Related posts

• Boise Oinkari Basque dancers featured in “Downtown Boise Gift Card” commercial
• Patty Miller and Boise Basque Museum to Receive Awards
• Boise’s Basque Block featured in Idaho for 91 Days series
• Where do I find out about Basque events in Boise?

At the beginning of the month I wrote about the return of the radio station on Basque diaspora, 8 Probintziak, along with an interview with the station’s manager, Benoit Etcheverry Macazaga and the link to October’s program, the first one after a 5-year hiatus. Yesterday, a reader suggested to post a link to each program so those of us who, for one reason or another, are not able to listen live to the monthly broadcast, can enjoy it at a later time.

I thought it was a great idea, so here you have the link to the second radio program: November, 2012.

Don’t miss next month’s broadcast on December 2. The main topic will be International Basque Language Day, but you will also enjoy a live competition between bertso singers Johnny Curutchet and Amets Arzallus.

The Basque diaspora is the name given to describe the dispersion of Basques in the world. Many Basques left the Basque Country to emigrate mainly to Argentina, Chile and the United States, although those are not, by any means, the only countries with a Basque diaspora. It is sometimes called the “8th province” of the Basque Country.

The Diaspora actively promotes its identity through dancing, gastronomy, Basque games and cultural events. Basques are committed to maintaining their roots and very successful at it. Just check out this pictures from 1972 in Boise, Idaho, USA, or this video from 1977. Now compare them to images from the latest Jaialdi celebration in 2010. Not much has changed, has it?

However, Basques abroad are also different from their neighbors in the Basque Country, especially in connection with their dual identity as Basques and whatever their native country might be.

The Euskal Etxeak or Basque Centers play a key role in the lives of Basques abroad, acting as gathering points for them to socialize, learn, and hold meetings. They are well-organized (under NABO or North American Basque Organizations in North America, and FEVA or Basque-Argentinian Federation of Entities in Argentina, for example), and collaborate frequently among each other and with organizations from the Basque Country on events such as Jaialdi, Basque language immersion programs, or Gaztemundu.

And now, five years after its first run, Basques abroad have yet another way to keep connected by listening online to 8 Herrialdeak Zuzenean (it only works when the program is on). It is the first radio program for and with the Basque diaspora, aired in four languages: Basque, English, Spanish and French. You can listen to it every first Sunday of the month on the 8 Probintziak website. There, you will also find a wealth of information about the latest happenings in the Diaspora in the form or articles, photos and videos, plus RSS feeds to various blogs and news sites, such as Buber, Euskalkultura.com, even this very blog, A Basque in Boise.

Benoit Etcheverry Macazaga, a Basque native from Iparralde, started the program in 2004 and ran it until 2007, when he took on some other projects – always related to the Basque diaspora. Benoit had hoped for the radio show to continue airing, but nobody picked it up. This is why, five years later, he decided to bring the program back. 8 Herrialdeak Zuzenean airs from 8:00 to 9:30 pm (Basque Country time). The next installment of the program is coming up this Sunday, November 4. In the meantime, I leave you with audio of the first program aired after the 5-year hiatus, followed by an interview with its creator.

An interview with Benoit Etcheverry Macazaga

A Basque in Boise.  I have been reading about you and I know you’ve worked for EuskoSare, France bleu Pays Basque plus you collaborated with Euskadi Irratia and EITB. I know you live in Iparralde but also that you are with the Diaspora now and always, why?

Benoit Etcheverry Macazaga. I’m 40 years old, married (I met my wife at the Euskal Etxea in Paris), and we have five children.

I started working for and with the Basque diaspora 11 years ago, when I was president of Udaleku (or summer camp), here in Iparralde. I learned that there was an Udaleku in the USA too, so I called the number I’d found on the Internet and I realized how rich the Basque presence. I discovered Basques in the US, but also all over the world. I was surprised.

I knew, like many Basques here, that virtually every family has a cousin in the diaspora, but to discover that there are more people with Basque roots abroad than in the Basque Country, well, that’s what drives me. Later, I went to see some institutions to present this fact, Basque presence around the world, but they didn’t listen to me. They laughed about me (also Basque institutions from Iparralde). Now, 11 years later, we can see how things have changed.

We created an association in 2004, 8 Probintziak Elkartea, because we thought this work should be recognized one day, not only by the institutions but also by the diaspora. The objectives of 8P are: to present the current reality of the Basque diaspora to the Basque Country, and conversely, the current reality of the Basque Country to the diaspora. We help companies develop their business with the Basque diaspora, aid students to find a stage, and we create new ways of communication (we participated in the translation of Facebook to Basque, we do a radio show, are active in social networks, etc.)

As you can see, it is much more than a non-profit organization; it is a passion. I teach that to my children, I say, “open your eyes and look, open your ears and understand.”

Q. How did the idea for the program first come up?

In 2004, I realized about the power of the Internet, and the potential new technologies could offer us for communication, genealogy, etc. At this time, I was receiving a lot of messages from the USA, Argentina, Chile, Australia, Poland, etc. In the end, I needed more time, to answer them all, so I searched for a solution and doing a radio program is what I found. However, how could we be understood by all? And that’s when I decided to do it in four languages. No one had done it before, but because no one did it, it didn’t mean it was impossible!

Q. So, after a five-year hiatus you decided to bring the radio program back. Why now?

Between 2007 and 2012 I was also working on promoting the Basque diaspora with a new project, the international center of the Basque diaspora in the town of Azkarate (lower Navarre). At the same time, radio station France Bleu Pays Basque asked me to do a radio show in Basque about the Basque diaspora. One show, one interview in Basque with a Basque person. The show was called Euskaldunen Mundua (the World of the Basques). I did it for 2 years. At that time I also started writing for a newspaper La semaine du Pays Basque.  I had my own page: les basques d’ailleurs (or Basques abroad).

I thought somebody would have picked up what we started years before, but that wasn’t the case. Therefore, along with we Robert Acheritogaray (from California, now living in Ortzaize, brother of Philippe Acheritogaray) and Adelaide Daraspe (president of Euskaldunak Quebec, Montreal’s Basque Center), we decided to bring the show back once a month, on the first Sunday of every month. Our goal is to share knowledge about the Basque diaspora. It’s not amazing to do that, it’s normal. What is amazing  is that no one has tried to do that before.

Q. The program airs on the first Sunday of each month, at 8 pm EH time, are there any plans to air the program weekly or bi-weekly? Why or why not?

The program airs the first Sunday of every month, and we are going to keep it like that for now. It takes a lot of time to prepare a program and most of us also have a life with our families and our jobs. However, if people from the diaspora listen to us, call us, send us messages, maybe things can change. We are just staring though, so we need time to evaluate the impact of the program. You can participate in the program by calling 00 11 33 559 59 60 30 or by e-mail at irratia@8probintziak.com.

How is it structured? I heard the first installment and it was done in the four languages (Basque, Spanish, French and English). Is that typically how it will be done?

Each program focuses on one subject, but then we also spend some time talking about news from Basque centers around the world.

The first part of the second program will center on Basque gastronomy around the world, with Mattin Noblia and Alphonse Acheritogaray. During the second part, we will receive singer Naia Robles to talk about her trip to Argentina during the national Basque Week in Rosario. Then news, games (thanks to our www.euskal8.com) and of course, very important: the weather.

All we say is translated in three languages because people listen from the US or Argentina, for example, but also from the Basque Country. Why doing a radio program if we are not going to be understood?

Q. How do you decide what topic you will cover? Can people ask to be on the program or do you have to get in touch with them first?

We read news from the Basque Centers using very good information sources like euskalkultura.com or euskalkazeta.com, and we also receive newsletters from some of the centers. I personally receive the San Francisco Basque Club’s newsletter Aldizkaria at home by mail.

Q. Your website has a lot of valuable information on many topics related to Basques and their Diaspora. I noticed that some parts are written in English, others in French, others in Basque or Spanish. Do you envision a site fully available on all four languages?

Our website, 8 Probintziak, only wishes to provide information. We don’t want to overlap with other sites, we just want to bring together existing information into one website. It’s a way to offer our readers an easy way to find the information they are looking for.

Q. Anything else you would like people to know.

Yes, our name: 8 Probintziak (with a K), because we work together. It is not the Basque Country for the diaspora or the diaspora for the Basque Country. The Basque country without its diaspora is not the Basque Country, and the diaspora without the Basque country would not exist.

Our main goal is to do things we think must be done, not for money, but to help people. Nobody gets paid to work for 8 Probintziak; we are all volunteers. 8 Probintziak Elkartea is a non-profit association based in Bayonne – Lapurdi.

You can get in touch with Benoit by emailing him at benoit@8probintziak.com or calling 00 33 635 49 28 33. You can also find them on Facebook.

Basque Language International Day on December 3rd

December 3rd is International Basque Day, established in 1949 by the Basque Studies Societies, a private scientific-cultural entity founded in 1918 as a permanent instrument for the development of Basque culture.

Like every year, Basques in Boise will gather once again at Boise’s Basque Block to celebrate with games, food, and singing. Meet at the Basque Museum at 6:00 pm on Monday, December 3rd, and then move over to Leku-Ona at 7:00 pm for appetizers and singing.

If there is no events in your city to celebrate this day, or you already have a previous commitment, you can still contribute by participating in a campaign to ask Google for a doodle of Basque language. From October 30th to December 1st, the Basque Studies Societies website will be collecting petitions to Google for a doodle of Basque language, which will be sent to Google on December 3rd. Those who wish to sign should click here.

Read the entire article on the eitb.com website.

San Francisco Basque Film Series – “ZURETZAKO”

The BEO will host a meet and greet reception before the screening (wine & cheese).  To attend, please RSVP to Nicole Sorhondo atInfo@BasqueEd.org.

When life repeats itself, we’ll do anything to change our destiny. We’ll toil and sacrifice for our families, without asking the cost to our children. To support his family in the Basque Country, Joaquin must herd sheep alone in America. Burning suns and blistering winds have made him a quiet, distant man. When his son joins him herding, years of separation and sacrifice come to a head. Together, they must battle the mountains, isolation, and each other.

The first American-made Basque-language film, Zuretzako is based on the life of filmmaker and Princess Grace Award-Winner Javi Zubizarreta’s own grandfather. Starring Zubizarreta’s father and brother in the title roles, Zuretzako tells the story of the sacrifices that fathers make and the toll they take on their sons.

Director Javi Zubizarreta will be on hand to present his film.

(For Zuretzako related posts previously published on A Basque in Boise, click here and here.)

For complete details, please check the Basque Educational Organization website.

Basque firm to launch app to play txalaparta on Iphone

One of the Basque Country’s traditional musical instruments will be born in the age of technology this Thursday when two Basques, Damien and Iban, launch Txalapartapp, an Iphone and Ipad application that gives fans of this ancient Basque musical instrument the chance of playing txalaparta using an Iphone or Ipad.

The txalaparta is an instrument made up of one or more thick wooden boards played by two people. The players, called txalapartariak, use short wooden sticks about 10 inches long and an inch and a half in diameter to hit the boards following a set of rules for rhythm.

In the past, shepherds would use the pieces of wood which make a txalaparta as a means of communication between farmhouses or when they were up on the mountain slopes with their flocks of sheep.

The app recreated the wooden board and includes four different sounds available according to the player’s level, which gives the chance to create several rhythms.

I don’t say it very often, well, maybe I never said it at all, but I am very grateful to EITB for letting me use a bit of their digital real state for my ramblings and stories. I like sharing the things that make me happy, make me laugh, or make me mad. I also enjoy keeping people up to date with news about the Basques I find interesting.

Sometimes, the very people I try to keep informed turn around to fill me in on information I have missed. Like last night at the Euzkaldunak monthly dinner in Boise’s Basque Center, when David Lachiondo, Interim Director of the Basque Studies Program at BSU, told me about the new movie by Carlos Saura, Guernica, 33 days, which recounts the story of famous painter Pablo Picasso and it’s being shot in the town of Gernika, Bizkaia.

The movie will feature Antonio Banderas as Picasso, and Gwyneth Paltrow as Dora Maar, the painter’s lover. It is a film about Pablo Picasso’s emotional upheaval during the painting of “Guernica” in 1937. To be titled “33 Dias” (33 Days), the movie will be produced by Elias Querejeta, who has worked with Saura on 11 previous occasions. The script was written by the octogenarian duo with the French writer Louis-Charles Sirjacq. One of contemporary cinema’s greatest cinematographers, Vittorio Storaro, will work for the seventh time with Saura. Variety reports that “33 Dias” is budgeted at $7.7 million and will be filmed next summer in Paris and in Guernica in the province of Biscay. Picasso’s monumental black, white, and grey mural, the most famous anti-war painting in the world, depicts the anguish and suffering of the people of the ancient Basque town following its bombardment by planes of the German Luftwaffe Condor Legion supported by Italian aircraft on the afternoon of April 26, 1937.

For more information about the project, check out the movie’s 17-page press book, or visit their website (mostly in Spanish), here.

Although not an official Seattle Euskal Etxea event, its president Gaizka Mallea would like to let the area residents know about the Seattle Latino Film Festival, which will show the Basque movie “Urte Berri On, Amona”, filmed in Basque and Spanish, with English subtitles. Here are the details:

Name of the Movie: Urte Berri On, Amona (Happy New Year, Grandma)
Date and Time: October 8th at 6:30 PM
Location: Kirkland Performance Center
Website: http://www.slff.org/happynewyear.php

Happy New Year, Grandma! (Urteberri on, Amona!) is a black comedy that follows the conflicts Mari’s family goes through while trying to looking after this peculiar grandmother. Grandma Mari is draining the life out of her daughter Maritxu so her husband Joxemari decides to put her in a nursing home. Joxemari must take her in without his wife getting wind of the situation and to do so enlists the help of her son-in –law Kintxo. This may seem a simple task but the grandmother’s character causes a duel of unexpected consequences. The director portrays the conflict in a humorous tone but also sheds light on dilemmas such as fear of solitude, loss of moral values, selfishness and family disintegration.

The Etxepare Basque Institute has organized an exciting event regarding Basque culture which will take place next month in New York.

The Etxepare Basque Institute’s goal is the promotion and diffusion of the Basque culture and language worldwide. For that reason, they have organized a small sampling of Basque culture in New York from the 1st to the 13th of October.

Some of  the events planned for the two-week Basque culture sampling include a round table discussion on the bombing of Gernika led by Joan Ramon Resina (Stanford University) and Joseba Zulaika (Center for Basque Studies, University of Nevada, Reno), a film series with movies like “Vacas” and “El Árbol de Gernika“, or a concert by famous Basque singers Mikel Markez and Eñaut Elorrieta. You can check the complete program below or download the pdf file here.

For more information, visit the Etxepare Basque Institute’s website or email Aizpea Goenaga Mendiola, the Institute’s Director, at a-goenaga@etxepare.net.