Several hundred people showed up on the Basque Block in the evening of Tuesday, July 27, the first official day of Jaialdi 2010. Musicians played, while the crowd ate pintxos and sangria from the Basque Market, or specialty drinks, like kalimotxos at the Basque Center.
A duo plays the ancient Basque instrument txalaparta for Jaialdi in Boise.
Ander and Imanol Zabaleta, from the Basque Country, played the diatonic accordion and the tambourine, in a duo known as “trikitixa.” They came to Jaialdi after being invited by organizers last year. Meanwhile, as the staff at Bar Gernika struggled to keep up with the orders in their crowded pub, another group of Basque Country musicians broke out their instruments there to the delight of the customers.
For the Basque band Luhartz, playing for Basque-American audiences is a way to acknowledge the hard work made by local Basque clubs to promote the culture of their homeland.
The group, which specializes in Basque dance music, has performed at Basque festivals in San Francisco, Bakersfield, Boise and Reno since first coming to the U.S. in 2002.
The five-member band played Friday June 4 at the Basque Cultural Center in South San Francsico and will play again Sunday June 6 during the San Francisco Basque Club’s annual festival at the Petaluma fairgrounds. Before that, they were at the Kern County Basque festival during Memorial Day weekend.
As he continues to innovate with his musical style, renowned Basque accordionist Kepa Junkera will be playing at Basque clubs in Boise and Chino this month.
The world music and Basque folk music accordionist – known in Basque as a trikitilari because of the special diatonic button accordion he plays – has been working on a trio of CDs that include songs and music videos performed with a number of artists in the United States and Latin America.
Championship Basque pelota players will be returning to California later this month to play exhibition games in Bakersfield and South San Francisco.
The four athletes — Fernando Goñi, AKA Goñi III; Pedro Eulate; Alberto Ongay and Jon Apezetxea — will battle it out on the handball courts during festival events at the Kern County Basque Club and the Basque Cultural Center. (Updated information:Ongay and Apezetxea will not be coming to the U.S. They will be replaced by two other Basque players.)
Pelota, or handball, is akin to a national sport in the Basque Country, where players square off on different-sized courts in tournaments across Europe. Basque immigrants brought the game with them when they came to the United States.
Long-time members of the Bay Area’s Basque community sometimes say that it seems just like yesterday when the San Francisco Basque Club was formed, back in 1960. The club has been celebrating its 50th anniversary in a big way this year, with several significant events.
In March, the club celebrated with a Bertzolaritza — bringing together expert bertsolaris, including two champions from the Basque Country. Next month the club will be celebrating its 50th anniversary with a weekend of sports, music with a group from the Basque Country and great food.
The festivities, sponsored by the club and the Basque Cultural Center, kick off Friday June 4 with an evening dedicated to the history of pilota, or Basque handball, in San Francisco. The program begins with a 6 p.m. handball game at the cultural center’s handball court, followed by a dinner and dance with entertainment by Luhartz, a five-piece band from the Basque Country. The group formed in 1983 and specializes in traditional Basque music.
When Basque director Victor Erice shot his feature film “Spirit of the Beehive,” little did he realize that his work would become one of the enduring classics of Spanish filmmaking.
The 1973 film, highlighted by an unforgettable child performance by Ana Torrent, was hailed by critics as one of the best Spanish films of that decade.
In San Mateo County, like elsewhere in the Bay Area, Basque immigrants grabbed a piece of the American Dream by starting their own businesses. Many of these entrepreneurs became gardeners.
A section of the new Basque exhibit. Photo: Courtesy of San Mateo County History Museum.
Now, the history of Basques in San Mateo County is being highlighted in a new exhibit at the San Mateo County History Museum. The exhibit is titled “Gardeners of Identity: Basques in San Mateo County.” It will be on display at the museum until February 2011.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the exhibit will be held this Saturday April 10. For more information or to RSVP, you can call Elizabeth at the museum at (650) 299-0104.
The duo of Pantxoa eta Peio sang at the Chino Basque Club March 26, 2010.
Pantxoa eta Peio, the Basque folk singing duet who made it big with their songs about love for their Basque culture, finally made their debut Continue Reading
Above: Promotional video for the San Francisco Basque Club’s “Bertso Jaialdia”
on March 13. For more information, click here.
The Basque competitors gather at festivals or among friends to face off in improvised lyrical duels. Each is given a topic, which can be anything from life on the farm to friendship or family. One by one, the singers belt out their spontaneous poetry.
Maialen Lujanbio is the first woman to win the Basque Bertsolari txapela. Photo: Courtesy of San Francisco Basque Club.
The art of singing extemporaneous songs is known as Bertsolaritza in Euskera, the Basque language. These bertsos, as the compositions are known, are sung by a bertsolari. It’s a tradition dating back hundreds of years to the villages and hamlets of the Basque Country
Basque Top Chef contestant Mattin Noblia will be taking part in a nationwide charity effort with other chefs from the popular reality TV cooking show to help Haiti earthquake victims.
Mattin Noblia. Photo: Euskal Kazeta.
Hearts for Haiti was the idea of Ron Duprat, a Florida-based chef and Top Chef contestant. On Valentines Day, all participating chefs and restaurants will donate 10% of their proceeds to Haitian relief efforts.
Noblia, owner of Iluna Basque restaurant in San Francisco, said he agreed to help victims in the Caribbean island nation after he was approached by his friend Duprat, who was born in Haiti. The January quake has prompted a number of relief efforts.
“Every little bit helps,” Noblia told Euskal Kazeta.
Michel Etcheverry rehearses for performance in Chino. Photos: Euskal Kazeta
Michel Etcheverry, a popular singer from the Basque Country, is visiting California for performances in South San Francisco and Chino. Continue Reading
Basque handball supporters gathered Thursday Dec. 10 at a chic San Francisco restaurant for a fundraising event for the United States Federation of Pelota.
Basque pilotaris in Bakersfield. Photo: Euskal Kazeta
The gathering was held at Piperade restaurant, owned by renowned Basque chef and author Gerald Hirigoyen. Guests enjoyed sumptuous cuisine such as Serrano jam, stuffed peppers and assorted cheeses, as well as several fine wines.
Xabier Berrueta, president of the federation, talked about the group’s strategy for increasing the popularity of the sport.
