One more year, members of the Rhode Island Basque Club gathered last weekend for ‘Txitxiburduntzi‘, a Basque ritual celebrated on the Sunday before Ash Wednesday.
Roberto Guerenabarrena, president of the Rhode Island Basque Club, explains how on that Sunday, friends in the Basque Country would go to the mountains and enjoy all the products from a fresh pig. Even though Lent Season is long past, Riki Lasa -president of the Pelotari’s Union- has been organizing this event in May for many years now at his home in Connecticut.
Everyone gathered last weekend at Riki’s house to have chorizo and sausages, including Ander Caballero, the newly appointed Basque Government Delegate in the United States. In addition, attendees also enjoyed an entire pig roasted by Barbecue Master Patxi Gandiaga. Rhode Island Basque Club members participated in many Basque rural sports like sokatira (tug of war), txingaruten (weight carrying), txokorbatzen (corn collecting), or harrijasoketa (weight lifting).
The main event was a challenge of aizkolaris (wood cutters), where three new challengers set out to defeat the current champion Riki Lasa, and one of them did! The new champion is Juan Mari Aramendi, aka Troitixe.
Are you feeling homesick? Looking for summer fun? Lucky for you, Basque festival season has officially started in the USA.
Fresno’s is the first of many Basque Festivals which will take place across the States from May until the middle of September. Once again, there will be plenty of opportunities for everyone to enjoy great food, dancing, and probably some kalimotxo as well. If you are not familiar with the Basques, these events are the perfect setting to get a taste of our culture, our language, and our way of being in general. And if you happen to be an immigrant like me, Basque Festivals come pretty darn close to feeling at home.
I’m not sure which ones I’ll hit this summer, but I’ll be in Boise for sure during San Inazio in July. If you can make it too, I’d love to see you!
I can’t believe we’re already talking Jaialdi 2015 when it seems like we just finished enjoying 2010!
A million memories are made in Boise every five years during this special weekend, and even though Jaialdi 2015 is still a ways away (July 28-August 2, 2015), organizers have already started preparations for this huge event.
One of the first orders of business is to choose groups: choral, dance, music, to perform at the event. Jaialdi has set up a special page on its website for international groups who are interested in participating to apply. The necessary forms can be found on the website in four languages (English, Basque, Spanish and French), but I have listed them below for your convenience. Chosen applicants will be notified by November of this year to allow ample time to get organized as well as find funding if necessary. Groups will be responsible for their own travel, while Jaialdi will take care of room and board while in Boise.
A Bit of Jaialdi History
By The North End. Jaialdi was first celebrated in 1987 as a one-time event to celebrate the old and new, local and international aspects of Basque culture. Held at the historic former Idaho State Penitentiary, Jaialdi ’87 attracted 30,000 enthusiastic visitors. The festivities included a parade, symposium, Mass, street dance, sports exhibitions, cultural performances, souvenir booths, and food and drink.
In 1990, the governor of Idaho requested that the Basque community hold another Jaialdi as part of the state’s 100th anniversary celebrations. The 1990 Jaialdi took the same format, but with a few minor changes and improvements. The 1990 festival was so successful that the current every-five-years format was established. Jaialdi is always held during the last weekend of July, which coincides with the Boise Basque community’s celebration saint, San Inazio de Loyola.
The goal of Jaialdi is to celebrate Basque culture through dance, song, music, education, food and more. Jaialdi is an easy word to remember and say: It describes a week of gathering and taking part in a memorable time.
Applications for International Performing Groups
International participants. Jaialdi organizers will select a small number of international groups to participate in Jaialdi 2015. Jaialdi will provide housing and meals for these selected performers from July 28 through August 3, 2015. All participants are responsible to provide and schedule their own transportation to and from Boise, Idaho. Groups wishing to be considered for participation should complete this form.
Nazioarteko partehartzaileak. 2015eko Jaialdiko antolatzaileek nazioarteko talde kopuru murriztua aukeratuko dute Jaialdian parte hartzeko. Jaialdiak aukeratutako partehartzaileei otorduak eta bizitokia eskainiko dizkie uztailaren 28tik abuztuaren 3ra. Partehartzaileen erantzukizuna izango da Boiserako joan-etorriko bidaien ordutegia, ordainketa eta antolaketa egitea. 2015eko Jaialdian parte hartu nahi duten taldeek honako dokumentu hau osatu behar dute.
Participantes internacionales. Los organizadores de Jaialdi 2015 van a seleccionar un número pequeño de grupos internacionales para participar en el Jaialdi 2015. Jaialdi proveerá el alojamiento y la comida para los grupos selecionados del 28 de julio hasta el 3 de agosto 2015. Todos los participantes deben organizar su propio transporte desde Boise y hasta Boise. Los grupos que quieren participar deben llenar esta solicitud.
Participants Internationaux. Les organisateurs de Jaialdi sélectionneront un petit nombre de groupes internationaux à participer à Jaialdi 2015. Jaialdi fournira un logement et des repas pour les artistes sélectionnés à partir de Juillet 28 jusqu’au 3 Août, 2015. Tous les participants sont responsables de fournir et d’organiser leur propre transport vers et à partir de Boise, dans l’Idaho. Les groupes qui souhaitent être pris en considération pour la participation doit remplir ce formulaire.
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.
Every year since the early 1970’s N.A.B.O., in conjunction with one of the Basque clubs, has organized Udaleku – a two-week Basque Culture Summer Camp. Participants have an opportunity to learn more about their Basque heritage while having fun and making new friends.
UDALEKU 2012 will take place in Bakersfield, CA this year from June 16-28. The cost is $350 per student and applications will be available online at nabasque.org starting March 1st at 6 PM (PST).
PLEASE NOTE there are only 45 spots available to students outside the Bakersfield area as they do not have lodging for more than that. So if you are interested in going make sure you follow the link and fill out the online application. Payment is due when you submit your application.
This is a GREAT opporunity to learn more about our heritage through Dance, Games, Music, Language, and Cooking!
The 2013 application will be available on the NABO website on March 1, 2013
Application/Registration deadline: May 1, 2013
Application/ Registration forms and tuition received after this date will be returned to the participant’s parent/guardian. The cost of camp is $350 per student, with a $50 nonrefundable deposit required upon application. NOTE: One application/registration agreement form is required for each child attending Udaleku. If you have more than one child attending, you are required to fill out an application/registration form for each child. All participants must be 10 years old on or before June 15. Poxpolins will not be provided to students for txistu class. Students should bring their own, or can purchase one from N.A.B.O. for $30.00 (available later). Memory books will be available to purchase for $15.00 (collected later). The memory book will be sent by mail to your child after Udaleku has concluded.
Financial Aid: For those families requesting financial assistance to send their child, NABO has established the Aita Martxel TillousYouth Financial Aid Fund. This online application form is due April 1st (response by April 20th) and it’s available by clicking here.
Yesterday, I read about Basque typical products thanks to a link (in Spanish) that my friend Lontzo shared on his Facebook wall. He’s now responsible for networking at EITB, but Lontzo is the reason why I started this blog a few years back, in case you wanted to thank him (or give him hell, that’s up to you).
As I went down the list of typical Basque products and learned more about their history, I realized I couldn’t have told you how Kalimotxo came to be. An entire life surrounded by it – in Bilbao as well as in Boise – but no idea where it came from!
It only took a couple of minutes and my friend Google to find the answer. Apparently, it was originally called Rioja Libre or Cuba Libre del pobre (poor man’s Cuba Libre) but it was renamed to Kalimotxo during the 1972 Puerto Viejo festivities in Algorta by the Antzarrak cuadrilla (Geese friends circle). Legend has it that the servers in one of the txoznas (stands in Basque festivals where drinks are served) noticed that the wine they had bought was not in good condition, so they decided to to doctor it with coke to make it drinkable. The mixture was then named after two members of the group, one known as “Kalimero” (after the Calimero chicken character) and “Motxo”, hence the name “Kalimotxo”.
A prime example of what I call “Basque engineering”.
How To Make A Kalimotxo
The Kalimotxo is basically 50-50 cola and red wine, served over lots of ice. Here’s the way the locals do it: Get a 2-liter bottle of Coke, pour out half (save for later), then pour in a bottle of inexpensive red wine. Serve over cups of ice. Pretty easy. Pretty cheap.
Christmas time is coming and EuskalKultura.com, in collaboration with Dastatu.es, a store that sells quality Basque food products, is raffling off a fantastic Christmas basket. The basket includes high quality products made in the Basque Country, which will be sent directly from the producers association Lur-Lan to the consumer, skipping the middleman. Enter the raffle and if you are lucky, we will send the basket to you, wherever you are!
To enter, you have to visit Dastatu’s Facebook page and submit a photo with your Basque recipe, clearly written (see example). You can do it in Basque, Spanish, or English. You can also publish your recipe on Dastatu’s wall, without the photo.
The prize will be raffled off amongst the people submitting the recipes on Facebook. Then, all those recipes will be compiled and published in Dastatu’s blog, along with the name and last name of the author.
The prize is quite tempting. The basket contains:
Idiazabal Cheese D.O. BAGA, 250 g
loncheada palette, BASATXERRI, 100 g
Mousse foie 55%, KATEALDE, 135 g
Chorizo cular, BORDON, 330 g
Asparagus D.O. Navarra, NAVARRICO, 1/2 kg, 13-16 units
Organic Piquillo Peppers, LA CHURTA, 250 g
Extra Virgin Olive Oil Rioja Alavesa, ADORA, 25 cl
Bonito from Getaria, JUANTXO, 170 g
Gourmet “Tiles” (cookies) from Tolosa, GORROTXATEGI, 125 g
Txakoli D.O. “Getariako Txakolina”, ARREGI.
Vino Crianza D.O. Rioja, ONDALAN.
Cava Brut, MAINEGRA.
The last day to send in recipes is December 19th. Use your imagination, put on your apron, take photos, and this fabulous prize could be yours!
EuskalKultura.com, in cooperation with Etxepare Basque Institute, will raffle among their readers a book collection on Basque culture dealing with topics such as cinema, literature, bertsolaritza, Basque dancing, cuisine, history, Basque music and theater. The collection is designed for readers from different countries in the Basque diaspora, as it’s been published in three languages: Basque, Spanish, and English.
You have until Monday, November 5 at 23:59 (Basque Country time) to enter the raffle by sending an email to info@euskalkultura.com. The message must include you name and last name(s), telephone number and complete postal address, and have SORTEO (Spanish word for “contest”) in the subject line.
remember that, even if you’re not the lucky winner, you can still access and download the books on pdf format by clicking on the links (or click here for the entire list).
The Mortzilla Dinner is scheduled for Saturday, November 3. This dinner is open to the public. No reservations are required. It will be a “first come, first served” meal. The menu will include:
Tossed salad
Mortzillas
Meatballs in brown sauce
Alaskan cod in pipparade sauce
Garbanzos with chorizos
Pumpkin pie with whipped cream
Bread and butter
Wine and coffee
The first seating will begin at 5:15 PM, and the second seating will begin at 6:30 PM. The price for the dinner is $15.00 for adults and $6.00 for children 10 and under. Wine and other beverages can be purchased in the dining room.
The Mortzilla Dinner is part of the Annual Bazaar/Bingo Night. The November dinner will be hosted by the families and friends of Boiseko and Txantxangorriak.
I realize I could have been a little quicker on this one, but I just got around to browsing Boise’s Basque Museum fall newsletter. So Bar Gernika’s 21st anniversary took place about three months ago, but hey, it’s never too late to read about it. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been to Bar Gernika to get my double solomo sandwich fix, but I didn’t know all the details about the bar’s history and how it all came about.
Bar Gernika celebrated a special milestone on Thursday, June 21 st, as it marked it’s 21 st year as one of Boise’s longstanding restaurants and local pubs. Jeff May, owner of Gernika since 2008, decided to roll back some of the prices to the first, 1991 menu. Twenty-one years ago a solomo sandwich with a side was $3.75, a chorizo sandwich with a side was $2.75 and croquetas were $1.50. All of their draft beer, wine and kalimotxos were half price that day. Needless to say, the 21 year old prices were much appreciated by both regular and new customers as they gathered at the Gernika Pub & Eatery at 202 S. Capitol Boulevard to socialize, reminisce and have a great meal.
In 1990, what was the Cub Bar building, was slated for demolition as part of newly-acquired property to build a bank and parking area on the corner of Front & Capitol. Basque Museum & Cultural Center board members, Adelia Garro Simplot and Romaine Galey Hon, seeing the need to save this historic building that was in a prominent location along Capitol Boulevard, worked under the legal advice of Willis E. Sullivan III, and with property managers, Oppenheimer Corporation, to negotiate a deal with the Mountain West Savings Bank so that the building would not be razed and replaced by four parking spaces. The bank was allowed to use spaces behind the Basque Museum in exchange for a lease on the building to the Basque Museum. Dan Ansotegui (now part of local Basque band Amuma Says No) had the vision and dream to work diligently to establish Bar Gernika. Dan’s first proposal to the Basque Museum board of directors was for a pub and eatery called ‘The Shepherd’s Son.” He later decided on the name, “Bar Gernika” because it only seemed logical since there was a “Bar Boise” in the city of Gernika. In 1998, a permanent land transfer was negotiated between the Bank of America and the Basque Museum to exchange the Bar Gernika property, including some additional property to the south so that Dan Ansotegui could expand the building, for the parking area behind the main gallery of the Museum. The Basque Museum & Cultural Center owns the building, but Jeff May owns the business.
The Gernika Basque Pub & Eatery was recently recognized in the Food Network Channel’s “50 Sandwiches in 50 States” as Gernika’s Lamb Grinder was selected as the representative sandwich for Idaho. Thin slices of tender marinated leg of lamb on a fresh french roll with a light lamb sauce for dipping. with grilled onions, peppers, mushrooms and swiss cheese. Many patrons who stop by the Museum after lunch who have tried this delicacy just can’t wait to return for another!
This isn’t the only time that Bar Gernika has received national recognition as it continues to welcome patrons who come for a meal because the restaurant was featured and appears on re-runs of Guy Fieri’s “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives,” program originally filmed in March, 2009.
The Gernika Pub & Eatery is an anchor for the Basque Block and remains as a great representative for the Basque community. Dan Ansotegui began a wonderful tradition of good food and a welcoming atmosphere back in 1991 which Jeff May continues today. The Basque Museum & Cultural Center is grateful to have this business as a tenant with Jeff May at its helm.
I'm a girl from Bilbao who calls Boise her home and enjoys sharing her experiences with the world. Sometimes they are fun, sometimes they are cheesy, sometimes I just copy and paste. It depends.
4 visitors online now 3 guests, 1 members Max visitors today: 14 at 08:13 am MDT This month: 17 at 05-11-2013 08:46 am MDT This year: 23 at 02-24-2013 02:23 pm MST All time: 24 at 01-20-2012 04:26 pm MST
Roberto Guerenabarrena, president of the Rhode Island Basque Club, explains how on that Sunday, friends in the Basque Country would go to the mountains and enjoy all the products from a fresh pig. Even though Lent Season is long past, Riki Lasa -president of the Pelotari’s Union- has been organizing this event in May for many years now at his home in Connecticut.
Yesterday, I read about Basque typical products thanks to a 
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