By John Ysursa One of the most recognizable male Basque dances, which has become popular this summer at Basque-American festivals, is the “banakoa” from the region of Durango in Bizkaia.

For David Romtvedt, playing his accordion is a way of helping Basque people maintain their unique culture. Since the mid-1990s, the wiry accordionist has been belting out fandangos and other folk and dance tunes with the Bighorn Basque Club in Buffalo, Wyoming. He recently played with the group’s dancers at the huge Jaialdi 2010 international Basque festival in Boise. “It’s [...]

For the Aguerres, the family that plays together, stays together. Plays in the klika, that is.

The capacity crowd at Boise’s historic Anduiza Fronton was treated to a tight, back-and-forth struggle between squads from San Francisco and Boise during the final match of the 35th-annual pilota championships sponsored by the North American Basque Organizations, or NABO. The lead changed hands several times in the exciting paleta goma contest, which was held Friday evening July 30 during [...]

Dancing the Banakoa from Euskal Kazeta Basque News on Vimeo.

The recent Fetes de Bayonne attracted a “flashmob” estimated to be a crowd of over 2,000 people who danced to the song “I Gotta Feeling.” Today (Aug. 13), in Biarritz, France, another flashmob dance event, advertised on Facebook was scheduled to take place in front of the Biarritz casino, and organizers were hoping to get an even larger crowd. On [...]

The hometown Oinkari Dancers performed to an enthusiastic crowd during the recent Jaialdi 2010 international Basque festival at Boise’s Expo Idaho fairgrounds. The group, which usually performs dances from the Basque province of Bizkaia, changed their routine for the festival and danced several numbers from the province of Nafarroa. The Oinkari Dancers are celebrating their 50th anniversary year and held [...]

Jaialdi 2010 Sports Night from Euskal Kazeta Basque News on Vimeo.

The Oinkari dancers have perhaps done more than any Basque-American group to promote Basque culture in the United States.

Click on the video above to see a few of the many Jaialdi 2010 musical and dance performances Saturday July 31 at the Expo Idaho fairgrounds. More than a dozen music and dance groups from the United States and the Basque Country were on hand for the day-long celebration attended by thousands of people. The week-long Jaialdi festival concludes today [...]