Basque festival

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Basque festival in Winnemucca. Winnemucca Basque Festival.jpg
Basque festival in Winnemucca.

Basque festivals, also known as Euskal jaiak, are festivals celebrating Basque culture, including Basque dance, Basque cuisine, Basque sports, and elements of Basque folklore. Basque festivals are organized in the United States of America in towns with an important population of Basque descendants, such as Elko, Reno, Winnemucca, Bakersfield, Chino, San Francisco, and Boise. The first Western Basque Festival was held in Sparks, Nevada, on June 6–7 1956. [1] Elko hosts one of the largest Basque Festivals in the United States, second only to Boise's world famous Jaialdi, [2] held roughly every five years around the 4th of July weekend. [3] Similar festivals are celebrated in Argentina and other countries where Basque diaspora is set. [4] Basque festivals are also celebrated in the Basque Country: Euskal Jaiak celebrations in September in Donostia and Zarautz are famous.

Dates of basque festivals in the United States often correspond with a saint's day in the Basque Country. [5] Early examples of Basque festivals date from the late 19th century, when the Lore Jokoak, or Basque Floral Games came into being in French-Spanish bordering areas of Navarre, Labourd, and Gipuzkoa, fostered and encouraged by Antoine d'Abbadie and other cultural figures.

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The Basques are a Southwestern European ethnic group, characterised by the Basque language, a common culture and shared genetic ancestry to the ancient Vascones and Aquitanians. Basques are indigenous to, and primarily inhabit, an area traditionally known as the Basque Country —a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elko, Nevada</span> City in Nevada, United States

Elko is a city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Elko County. As of the official 2020 U.S. Census, the city has a population of 20,564. Elko serves as the center of the Ruby Valley, a region with a population of over 55,000. Elko is 21 miles (34 km) from Lamoille Canyon and the Ruby Mountains, providing year round access to recreation including hiking, skiing, hunting, and more than 20 alpine lakes. The city straddles the Humboldt River. Spring Creek, Nevada, serves as a bedroom community 6 miles (10 km) from the city with a population of 13,805.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winnemucca, Nevada</span> City in Nevada, United States

Winnemucca is the only incorporated city in, and is the county seat of, Humboldt County, Nevada, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 8,431, up 14.0 percent from the 2010 census figure of 7,396. Interstate 80 passes through the city, where it meets U.S. Route 95.

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The Basque diaspora is the name given to describe people of Basque origin living outside their traditional homeland on the borders between Spain and France. Many Basques have left the Basque Country for other parts of the globe for economic and political reasons, with a substantial population in Chile and Colombia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elko Regional Airport</span> Airport

Elko Regional Airport, formerly Elko Municipal Airport, is a mile west of downtown Elko, in Elko County, Nevada, United States.

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The Basque Country national football team represents the Basque Country in football. It selects players from the Basque Country autonomous community, Navarre and the French Basque Country and is organised by the Basque Football Federation. It is not affiliated with FIFA or UEFA and therefore only allowed to play friendly matches against FIFA or non-FIFA affiliated teams.

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Basque Argentines are Argentine citizens of Basque descent or people from Basque residing in Argentina. Basque Argentines are one of the largest Basque diaspora groups in the world.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Korrika</span>

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Elko High School (EHS) is a public secondary school in Elko, Nevada, in the United States. It is part of the Elko County School District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Txoko</span>

A Txoko is a typically Basque type of closed gastronomical society where men come together to cook, experiment with new ways of cooking, eat and socialize. It is believed that over 1000 of these societies exist; the town of Gernika, Spain, for example, with around 15,000 inhabitants, has nine txokos with some 700 members in total. Txoko can be found not only in Spain but in almost any city with a significant number of Basques

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Day of the Geese</span> Basque festival competition

The Day of the Geese, also known as Antzar Eguna, is a competition held as part of the San Antolín festival in the Basque fishing-town of Lekeitio, in which participants attempt to decapitate a goose suspended on a rope above the town harbor. Chicken are also often used.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Basque center</span> Ethnocultural community centers

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseba Agirreazkuenaga</span> Spanish researcher

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The Etxepare Basque Institute is a public agency created by the Basque Government. The institute is named after Bernat Etxepare, author of Linguae Vasconum Primitiae (1545), the first book to be published in the Basque language, or Euskara. The phrase that defines the Institute can be found in that first book: "Heuscara/Ialgi hadi mundura".

References

  1. Goirizelaia, Maialen; Iturregui, Leire (12 Jun 2018). "From cultural showcases to public diplomacy agents: Basque-American festivals in the United States". Diaspora Studies. 12 (2): 193–209. doi:10.1080/09739572.2018.1485240. S2CID   159010676 via Taylor and Francis Online.
  2. "Activities". The Basque Block. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
  3. Dougherty, Keegan (16 July 2017). "Jaialdi". Basque Center. Retrieved 2021-11-13.
  4. Bopp, English-Language Editor: John R. (2019-05-12). "Today, the Basques of Argentina pay homage to their roots, in the heart of Buenos Aires". About Basque Country. Retrieved 2021-11-13.{{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  5. Zubiri, Nancy (2006). A Travel Guide To Basque America, 2nd Edition: Families, Feasts, And Festivals. Reno, Nevada: University of Nevada Press / Reno, Las Vegas. p. 37. ISBN   0-87417-632-8.