For the Aguerres, the family that plays together, stays together. Plays in the klika, that is.
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Thousands of people were treated to a Basque cultural extravaganza Saturday July 31 as Jaialdi 2010 moved to the Expo Idaho fairgrounds in the first of two days of celebrations at the sprawling center.

Basque athletes Aimar Irigoien and Ugaitz Mugertza enjoy the festival. Photo: Euskal Kazeta.

The huge fairground was filled with vendors, an exhibit of Basque sheepherder wagons and two arenas where dance and musical groups from Basque communities in the United States and the Basque Country performed colorful routines for festival-goers who filled the bleachers in the air-conditioned center.

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President Patxi Lopez presents Patty Miller with award.

By Nancy Zubiri

As part of his first official visit to the United States as the Basque lehendakari, Patxi Lopez introduced himself to festival goers at Boise’s Jaialdi 2010 on Thursday, July 29. He spoke at a reception hosted by the Basque government of Spain in which Basque Museum Director Patty Miller was honored with the Lagun Onari award, given for significant contributions to Basque history and culture.

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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.

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Jaialdi 2010 week kicked off with action-packed women’s pelota Continue Reading

Xabi Alonso

Three players heading to the 2010 World Cup final Sunday are Basque. The Basques include Xabi Alonso, Fernando Llorente Torres and Javi Martinez, of the Spanish team.

Alonso, 28, is the highest profile Basque player on the team. Born in Tolosa in Gipuzkoa, he represented Spain on the national team in the 2006 World Cup. Alonso began playing with his local club team Real Sociedad, and was later recruited to the Liverpool team in England. His father Periko and brother Mikel have also played soccer. In 2009, he was recruited by the powerful Real Madrid.

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Basque Lehendakari Patxi Lopez will be visiting the United States next month during the huge Jaialdi 2010 international Basque festival in Boise.

The Basque government announced that Lopez will hosting a reception on Thursday July 29 at the downtown Boise Center. Lopez was elected last year as lehendakari, or president of Euskadi.

Related Euskal Kazeta articles:
Jaialdi 2010 Countdown
Oinkari Dancers Plan Jaialdi Reunion
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Basque people take their food and cooking seriously.

Chocolate Souffle from Benji's in Bakersfield must be ordered 30 minutes ahead

Anyone who has visited the Basque Country, eaten at a Basque restaurant or attended a Basque festival can attest to the importance that Basques place on fine-cooked cuisine.

With that in mind, Euskal Kazeta has organized a number of recipes that it has found on the web or has included in previous articles.

These recipes are just a sampling, but with your help, we would like to add more to our list.

Have a favorite recipe from your ama or amatxi? If so, let us know by posting it as a comment and we’ll include it with the rest of the recipes below: (New recipes will be marked by the date they were added. Recipes from our readers are in the comments box at the bottom.)

Related Euskal Kazeta Cooking Links:
Basque Chef Gerald Hirigoyen Signs Copies of his Book
Basque Chef Mattin Noblia on Top Chef Show

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Kepa Junkera Live at Chino Basque Club from Euskal Kazeta Basque News on Vimeo.

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.

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Dancers kick off the Fresno Basque festival May 1.

They prepared for rain at the Fresno Basque Club festival. But in the end, the weather was great — and so was the party.

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For years, Father Martxel Tillous was he Catholic priest assigned to cover the Basque communities across the American West. He was known simply as “aita,” or father, in the Basque language of Euskera. He died last year of cancer.

In honor of the beloved priest, the Seattle Basque Club will be viewing a video of a memorial Mass held last year for Aita Tillous on Saturday April 24 at 3 p.m. For more information, check out the club’s website.

Beginning in 1994, Aita Tillous drove thousands of miles in his van to celebrate Basque weddings, funerals and festival masses. His license plate said “Pottoka,” or a wild Basque pony.

With the onset of cancer, Aita Tillous returned to Europe, where he passed away in 2009.

Journalist Judith Torrea still remembers crossing the bridge from El Paso, Texas to Juarez, Mexico. Continue Reading

Basque Group Pantxoa eta Peio in U.S. Debut from Euskal Kazeta Basque News on Vimeo.

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