Basques around the world

Hi everyone!

Here is your summary of goings on for today, April 13th:

Find out today about fellow-Basque José Antonio Alcayaga III. José is an American photographer of Basque heritage who has created a group on facebook – Alcayagas del Mundo / Alcayagas of the World – in an attempt to bring together all those who share his surname. So far the group has 915 members, all called Alcayaga!  José’s currently exhibiting 9 of his photos (all taken during a trip to the Basque Country, like this one here) at Talbot’s in Greenwich, Connecticut.

We’ve also got some more news about Egunkaria today: The court also ruled that its closure was unconstitutional, while the five men acquitted have called for a celebration to say thanks for all the support they received over the past seven years. It’s scheduled to take place on April 25th at 11am in Bilbao.

Lastly, Mugalari has posted a new item on our Basque tourism blog ‘Off the Beaten Track’. This time he explains the interesting – or strange – eating schedules of the Basques: you might want to read just to be prepared!

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Good afternoon Basques,

Due to some technical problems yesterday we didn’t send you our usual update of news from our Basques All Around the World group, so here’s a summary of events from the past couple of days:

The biggest news today is about Basque president Patxi López’s meeting with Brazilian President Lula da Silva. His trip of the South American country has brought some positive economic news.

The latest edition to our Basque Country Live Blog is Jess Soodeen, a Canadian with no Basque heritage except for the historical links between the Basque Country and her mother’s native Newfoundland.  Find out how this connection brought her to our shores.

Chef Najat Kaanache, born in the Basque Country to Moroccan parents, is currently in Chicago as part of a three-year trip to learn from the world’s best chefs. Read about her odyssey.

If you’re following the Basketball Euroleague, some bad news I’m afriad as Caja Laboral crash out against CSKA Moscow.

Lastly, if you happen to be in the Basque Country this June, AC/DC will once again be playing Bilbao. Not a few people were left disappointed last year when tickets sold out in minutes, so this year’s gig at the massive San Mames stadium hopes to cater for all.

That’s all for now.

Bihar arte-

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Good evening Basques –

We’ve more than 2,200 members in our Basques Around the World Group and we’re still going strong. We really enjoy receiving your comments and contributions and look forward to receiving many more.

So let us know what you think of three interesting news items we’ve had today:

Firstly, Basque cookery once again enjoyed international fame, this time at the hands of none other than the BBC! But rather than Michelin-star restaurants or pintxos, this report looked at another important part of our tradition: the ‘txoko’, or gastronomic societies.

You will no doubt remember the 47 tense days reported here by eitb.com when the Basque fishing vessel the ‘Alakrana’ was hijacked by Somali pirates? Now those seven weeks are to become the subject of a brand new film entitled ‘Alakrana’ from the pen of Basque screen writer Jorge Guerricaechevarría, who wrote the multi Goya Award-winning Cell 211.

Another Basque branching out into international waters is Bilbao-born surfer Kepa Acero, who’ll be heading off in May around the 5 continents of the globe to face whatever nature has to throw at him, as well as 5 world-class waves. You’ll be able to follow his journey – entitled 5 Waves, 5 Continents – on his website.

That’s all for today – let us know what you think!

Bihar arte.

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Welcome to the week Basques.

We’ve now got a total of 2,053 members in our Facebook group, “Basques Around the World”, which we created as a place where all Basques, wherever you are, could meet on-line and share news about the Basque Country.

Some better news than yesterday on the sports front as both Caja Laboral and Bizkaia Bilbao Basket managed wins in the ACB Cup.

And talking of sport, Londoner Tiffany posted her latest Pelota installment on our blog ‘Dos Paredes’; this time about a match between Gonzalez and Laskurain in Urretxu.  In other news, a short film about the same sport has received an important award.

On the subject of awards, Spain’s ‘Oscars’, the Goyas, presented 8 prizes to Spanish film ‘Cell 211’ on Sunday, including one for Basque actress Marta Etura (see photo), not the only Basque competing on the night.

Our other adopted Basque, Tamar Moreno, has written a long and interesting explanation about one of the Basque Country’s most typical food items served at one of its most iconic buildings.

And other gastronomic news is that the kitchen of one of the Basque Country and the world’s most prestigious restaurants – run by world-class chef Andoni Luis Anduriz – has been badly burned in a fire.  Let’s hope it’s up and running again soon.

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Hello again Basques,

We’re on 1,981 members now Basques – so close to reaching our current target of 2,000 in our facebook group Basques Around the World. Then who knows how many we can get up to? The sky’s the limit as they say…

The biggest item today for our Boise Basques or all those going to this year’s Jaialdi Festival is the chance to reserve a program book; a great souvenir which you can also contribute to…

Anyone planning a trip to the Basque Country in July – or those of you already here and with a taste for festivals – might be interested to know that the line-up for this year’s BBK Live Festival in Kobetamendi is really filling out; a clue in our photo.

For sport fans, the good news today is that Bizkaia Bilbao Basket managed to turn their match around against Brose Baskets to get a win.

Also, we forgot to tell you yesterday about our latest recipe for a fantastic pintxo creation, this time at the hands of chef Bittor Muñoz. Even if cooking is not your thing, it’s impressive to see him make mist you can eat!

And did we tell you that Madonna has her eye on one of our very own home-grown models, Jon Kortajarena?!

Enjoy!

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Hello Basques around the world and welcome to our new blog!

Due to the centenary of the iconic balustrade of La Concha beach in Donostia-San Sebastian the Caldereros association paid tribute to its creator Juan Rafael Alday last week. It is the absolute emblem of the city.

Tamar Marino, a native girl of New Jersey (USA) who is now living in Donostia-San Sebastian leaves a new post entitled “A different kind of bubbly” in her blog Basque Fed and talks about Basque ’sagardotegi’, the Basque word for ‘cider house’ (in Spanish it’s ’sidrería’).

You can also enjoy this video about a parody between the city and the countryside in Donostia-San Sebastian.

As the Guggenheim Bilbao is hosting an exhibition on the North American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, the Navarre Basque Association of Architects offers guided visits to constructions influenced by his work.

Basque PM Patxi Lopez defended at the Informal Meeting of Ministers for Competitiveness dinner that is being held in Donostia-San Sebastian “the other Basque Country that deserves to be recognized”, apart from the news related to “the tragic chronicle of ETA that has been behind us for over the past years”.

The Jazz cycle kicks off with Hindi Trilok Gurtu, who has collaborated with John McLaughlin in whose trio he flourished as the featured soloist for 4 years. Joe Zawinul, Bill Evans, Dave Holland were all attracted to Trilok’s burning sense of rhythm, deeply rooted in the Indian tradition.

That’s all for today, thanks for being there!

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