This past July and August, my wife Iña Martinez and I had the privilege of accompanying a group of Basque tourists for two fun-filled weeks of travel in California, Nevada and Idaho, culminating in the 2025 Jaialdi Festival in Boise, Idaho.
“I had a good time,” Jose Inazio Arrizabalaga, one of the participants, said in Basque. “It was a good group, a beautiful experience and it was worth it.”
We led a similar trip ten years ago that started in San Francisco and ended at Jaialdi. This year, however, we added visits to Basque communities in Chino, Bakersfield and Fresno, California. The company Overtrails Tour Operator, based in Pamplona/Iruñea organized the trip.
Among the group of 40 people were 12 people from the Australian Basque diaspora. They included Amaia Urberuaga, born in Australia but living in Bizkaia. She is the current president of the Euskal Australiar Alkartea or Basque-Australian Association, based in the Basque province of Bizkaia. Historically, many Basques ended up in the Australian state of Queensland, working in the sugar-cane industry. In fact, their association logo features a stick of sugar cane and machete. Some have returned to live in the Basque Country. The rest of the group were Basques from the Bizkaia region, many from Gernika.
The group, which landed in Los Angeles, started the California swing of things July 21 with visits to numerous tourist hot spots such as Hollywood, a California winery and the cable cars and bridges of San Francisco, all by bus. But our main focus was a cultural journey, interacting with local Basque communities and even facilitating the occasional family reunion.
Our first Basque stop was my home Basque club in Chino, Calif. We stopped in for a Picon Punch at Chino’s Centro Basco restaurant before heading over to the Chino Basque Club, where “Basque Breakfast for Dinner” featured a variety of sausage products made by club members, including tripota, xingara and lukinka.
The culinary and celebratory aspect of our trip was repeated at Wool Growers restaurant in Bakersfield, Santa Fe Basque restaurant in Fresno and the restaurant at the San Francisco Basque Cultural Center. In Nevada, we stopped at Louis’ Basque Corner in Reno and JT’s Basque restaurant in Gardnerville, the Martin Hotel in Winnemucca, and the Star Hotel in Elko. At each of the stops, our gracious hosts regaled us with local history and anecdotes from their own experiences and those of other Basques whose hard work created the establishments that are such essential parts of their Basque communities today.
READ MORE STORIES ABOUT BASQUE COMMUNITIES IN THE AMERICAN WEST
Our more intellectual pursuits included visits to the Leonis Adobe in Calabasas, the Echeverria Dairy outside of Bakersfield, the Institute of Basque Studies at California State University Bakersfield and Center for Basque Studies at the University of Nevada Reno, and the Monument to the Basque Sheepherder in Reno.
An especially unique and frankly touching experience was a visit to the Duck Valley Reservation of the Shoshone-Paiute tribes, which overlaps northern Nevada and southern Idaho. We toured their council chambers and they invited us to a delicious lunch of Indian tacos. We participated in their Friendship Dance and they also demonstrated their Bear Dance. In return, Jakes Sarraillet from our group performed an aurresku for the Chairman and children, and then the dantzariak among us performed a Zazpi Jauzi (Seven Jumps Dance).
SEE MORE OF OUR STORIES ABOUT JAIALDI 2025
Many of the participants, several of whom were visiting the U.S. for the first time, found some challenges, such as the rules around tipping, the ubiquity of air conditioning and the copious amounts of ice in the drinks. But they were pleasantly surprised at how Basque culture has survived here after multiple generations, through the music, dancing and language.
At Jaialdi, we were fortunate to be staying at a hotel right next to newly inaugurated Kaixo Corner and the Basque Block. Many dignitaries and familiar faces were staying at the same location including Jean Flesher, current president of the North American Basque Organizations.
Our program included tickets for all three nightly events at the Idaho Central Arena, where we were treated to Herri Kirolak (Basque traditional sports), the traditional music and dance of Festara, and the live music performances at Dantzaldi. A special treat for our many participants from Gernika was getting to see hometown band Gatibu perform in this special venue.
We visited Expo Idaho on Saturday and Sunday, where Basque music, dancing and sports were all familiar activities to the visitors. At the same time, a novelty for the European visitors was seeing how Basque settlers lived in the old days, with interesting exhibits such as the karro kampo sheep wagons, true icons of the Basque Far West experience.
Overtrails Tour Operator also organizes trips to the Basque Country. To contact them, reach out via their Facebook page or via e-mail at [email protected].
