Basques around the world

Hi Basques,

We have a cracking item for you today Basques.  You might remember our previous articles about Ahizpak, two American-born Basque sisters from Nevada who moved to Boise eight years ago and started their own design company based on Basque symbolism.

Our latest article about them includes a video about one of the sisters – Maite – who came to EITB in Bilbao to pay us a visit and tell us first-hand about Ahizpak and what they’ve got planned for the upcoming Jaialdi festival.  Check out the article and video.

Meanwhile,  stay up to date with the latest news from the Manomanista with the latest entry on our Dos Paredes – English Pelota blog.

And lastly, much rain with a few sunny patches here and there have their (colourful) advantage, depending on where you’re standing of course! Enjoy these weather photos.

Laister arte.

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Good day to you from an overcast Basque Country, that promises sun, sun, sun tomorrow.

Many of you will not realize that this is an important date for the Basque Country. Today – April 23^rd – marks 30 years since the autonomous parliament was set up. Activities have been organized for the rest of the year.

We’ve got a weekend packed full of culture starting today in San Sebastian. Firstly, the Rompeolas festival has already started.This is an initiative organised to drive the city’s candidacy to be European Cultural Capital in 2016 and its 2 main ingredients are culture and citizen participation. The bells of the city were rung earlier to day, calling the people to come along and join in the fun!

Meanwhile, the 8^th Human Rights Film Festival also kicked off today, with a week of feature lengths and shorts about current social issues from all around the world.

Don’t forget to read our Dos Paredes blog as Olaizola II, twice a former winner of the Manomanista Championship is the red hot favourite as he goes up on Saturday against Patxi Ruiz.

And if you like baseball, do you remember Mark Kurlansky, who famously wrote about Basques in his book “Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World”?  In his latest book, Kurlansky traces the origins of the sport to the Dominican Republic.

And as spring is fully upon us, the Basque Country once again promises to be a great destination for a long weekend this May and into the summer – and also one of the safest!

Have a good weekend.

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Good afternoon to you Basques.

Well, summer is definitely on its way. Skies here are blue and sunny and the atmosphere is gearing up to a season of festival and frolics.

Talking of frolics, don’t forget AC/DC are playing Bilbao again soon. If you’re nearby and are thinking of going, tickets are on sale from tomorrow.

One of the next musical events in the calender is Donostia-San Sebastian’s Musicial Fortnight, taking place this year between August 7^th and September 3^rd.  Find out what it got in store this year and get a glimpse at the official programme.

In Pelota, Olaizola I beat Bengoetxea VI in the first match of the Pairs Championship, while it looks like our home-grown mountaineer Edurne Pasaban may actually be the first female to scale all fourteen 8000ers.

Not such good news for Osasuna, unfortunately, who now find themselves in the relegation zone.

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Hi Basques –

We’re made up today (really happy!) as the Basque Country and/ or Basques have been receiving praise and accolades from every corner.

Firstly, chef Eneko Atxa has just been named Chef of the Future by the International Academy of Gastronomy, which awards the title to only the most promising the innovative of cooks.

Elsewhere, UK national newspaper The Guardian has been singing the praises of our cider and cider houses. Check out what they have to say and find out which sagardotegis they’ve named in their top ten.

And last (but not least) another couple of famous Basques, Javier Aguirresarobe – cinematographer on films like The Road – and Mikel Urmeneta (he of Kukusumusu t-shirts and so on) have received the Universal Basque Award from the Basque Government and Caja Laboral.

We feel like winners today – except for Athletic, who lost 2-0 to Valencia last night. Well, you can’t win ‘em all!

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Hi Basques –

Firstly, a correction: José Alcayaga (the US-Basque photographer) kindly wrote to inform us that his photo exhibition is on in Greenwich Connecticut and NOT New York! Thanks for that José.

Otherwise, if you’re curious about Basque history you should definitely read on:

This Thursday and Friday (April 15^th and 16^th) at the University of Nevada in Reno is the 9^th Annual International Conference. This year the title is “War, Exile, Justice and Everyday Life, 1936 -1946” and includes an interesting section on Basques caught up in the civil war and in exile.

Back in the 1960s, one such Basque exile – Gotzon Elortza, then residing in France – would sneak across the State border to film his land and people, knowing it would help keep the language alive. Three documentaries by Elortza – the first ever to be filmed in the Basque language – are now being re-mastered.

Fittingly enough, this Thursday also sees the start of the Zinebi International Short Films and Documentaries Festival, which offers two months of films in the categories of shorts and documentaries – check it out if you can.

Some great news if you’re looking for a cultural holiday to the Basque Country – author Paddy Woodworth and chef Jon Warren have teamed up to offer you a unique Basque adventure. The first one will be this July between 5^th and 8^th and includes a trip to San Fermines in Lesaka, Navarre.

Bihar arte!

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Hello Basques!

Good afternoon from a rainy Bilbao, where forecasters are predicting waves of up to 4 metres later this evening.

Mugalari has given us another insight into Basque Tourism on our ‘Off the Beaten Track’ blog, this time about the port town of Algorta. Also, don’t forget to check out the brochures by Fresco Tours on the Basque Country.

Bea Echeveste wrote yesterday to tell us about Kepa Junkera’s article for local newspaper Deia, as he makes his way round the States: check out his blog and see what he makes of the place.

The Guggenheim Bilbao Museum has just announced an exhibition of works by Henri Rousseau opening this May. If you’re in the Biscay capital today and hoping to see some jazz, Charlie Haden and his quartet are playing the Teatro Campos Elíseos.

Enjoy the Easter weekend.

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Hi Basques,

Good news if you’re planning a trip to the Basque Country this Easter, as the weather promises to be settled with mostly blue skies. Maybe while you’re here you’d like to visit the Chillida works on show at the Ysios bodegas in Laguardia, or see the ‘Pamplona Encounters 72 Exhibition’, which recalls an amazing artistic movement that took place in the Navarre capital in 1972.

If you’re coming in May you’ll be in time for the 5^th ‘Basques and Dance’ Gala, which this year will be headed up local ballerina Lucia Lucarra, and feature two other Basque dancers from Biscay.

American travel company and group members Fresco Tours have written on our wall to tell us about a talk being given today in Florida by Professor Leonard Bloom entitled ‘The Mysterious Basque People of the American West, Spain and France’. If any of you make it, we’d love to hear about it.

Sports news from our English Pelota specialist Tiffany is about Saturday’s final of the Campeonato Parejas Promotion.

Meanwhile, yesterday wasn’t such a great day for Basque football or basketball as Athletic lost to Atletico Madrid and CSKA Moscow thrashed Caja Laboral.

That’s the news for today.

Ondo pasa!

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Today, 16^th March, it seems that Frederic Duhart discovered that our group can be a good way to know more about the Basque world. He told us that he has family in  Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego. Nice to meet you Fred!

Another friend, Alexander Amor, sent us a picture from our loved Bilbao Guggenheim Museum but seen from the air. Once you have seen it, you’ll notice why many people used to call it the cauliflower.

Food and beverage matching is more relevant than we think. It is a movement which some US gourmets started in the 80s, according to Donostia-San Sebastián Basque Culinary Center’s head, Jose María Aizegoa.

Do you want to know which are the most important upcoming concerts in the Basque Country? Enjoy this photo gallery.

On the other hand, if you’re more interested in arts, here you have some pictures on the Anish Kapoor exhibition, the latest at the Guggenheim.

…don’t forget our news on sports: soccer (Osasuna) and our Basque pelota blog to keep you updated.

And lastly, an industrial event: the Machine Tool Biennial Fair at Bilbao Exhibition Centre is nearer: 30,000 trade specialists have already joined the initiative.

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Good day to you Basques from a beautiful sunny day in the Basque Country,

Some important news from the basketball court today, three matches to be precise. The good news is that Bizkaia BB managed a nail-bitingly close win over Murcia, though the same could not be said for Caja Laboral in their match against Asefa Estudiantes or Lagun Aro GBC against Xacobeo Blu:Sens.

An exciting new exhibition comes to Bilbao’s Guggenheim Museum, which is displaying the work of Anish Kapoor, one of the most influential sculptors alive today. Read about the exhibition and see images of some of his works here.

And if you’re feeling peckish, American Tamar Marino provides her latest installment on the Basque Fed blog. This time she tells us about the importance of peppers in Basque cuisine.

Lastly, a couple of items we forgot to mention yesterday: Firstly, Athletic Bilbao’s draw against Sporting Gijon and the Basque tuna boat ‘Txori-Argi’, which escaped a pirate attack in the Indian Ocean.

That’s all for now. See you Tuesday – Asteartera arte!

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Good day to you Basques,

Boise’s international Basque Cultural Festival is drawing ever nearer folks, and two Boise sisters of Basque heritage have launched their latest Basque designs to coincide with the event; this year they hope to branch out and bring their creations to the ‘Old Country’. Read about ‘Ahizpak’ and see some of their designs here.

Our English pelota fan Tiffany provides the latest from the Fronton, with the good news that Abel Barriola has finally returned after a year of being out with injury. His comeback match will take place today in his home town of Leitza (Navarre) alongside Berasaluze IX, up against duo Idoate and Goni III.

In other news, Yo La Tengo, the noise band which was in many respects the quintessential critics’ band during the 90s, will be playing at Barakaldo’s Rock Star Live concert hall on 18th March, which is located about 7 kilometres far from the centre of Bilbao.

On a different ‘note’, internationally-acclaimed Basque musician Kepa Junkera has followed up his work on the short film about Pelota, released this year. This time he’s been collaborating on a big-screen production, not only helping out on the soundtrack of Emilio Aragon’s latest movie Birds of Paper, but giving some important advice on how to play the Trikitixa.

Finally, today our Basque Tourism blog reveals some interesting information, not least that the world’s biggest Rolls Royce collection is housed just 35kms west of Bilbao. It is in fact a collection of 75 unique cars, which also includes Lamborghini, Ferrari and Bentley, among others. If rare cars are your thing, you might think about taking a trip there next time you visit the Basque Country!

That’s all for today.  Have a great weekend!

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