Euskera Written Holly Book

No, it is not a holly book that tells the world that Euskal Herria is the Basque promised land. It is actually more simple than that.

This is about a note appeared at the Center for Basque Studies's web site about the different versions that can be found of the Bible translated to Euskara, the Basque Language.

Here it is:

The Bible in Basque

By Jacques Bellay

In 1571 Joannes Leizarrga, a Catholic priest from Zuberoa, joined the Protestant Reform movement and undertook the translation of the New Testament into Basque for the first time. The Roman Church set their sights on the task in 1740 when Haraneder produced his translation of the New Testament. More recently, in 1976 the abbot Kerexeta translated the Bible into Bizkaian.

Meanwhile, a new ecumenical translation of the Bible into Basque has appeared in bookstores under the title Elizen Arteko Biblia, published by the Sociedades B¡blicas Unidas, an organization that includes both Protestants and Catholics in the Basque Country.

This book is sturdily bound and contains all sorts of interesting information at the end of the volume, such as twenty pages of interdialectical vocabulary, thirty pages of Biblical dictionary, a subject index, plus maps and a timetable of Biblical history compared with general history of the period.

.... ... .

Herrialde Number Eight

This has to do with the old Basque equation 4 + 3 = 1.

Meaning the seven provinces are one country.

Well, as it happens, there is one more province (herrialde). Where's that other province.

Simple, it is the one comprised by all the Basques that are members of the Basque Diaspora, the dispersion all over the globe (not only the USA).

This is a report on the issue that appeared at the web page for the Center of Basque Studies at the University of Nevada in Reno:

The Eighth Basque Province

By IEPA!

(One of the reasons I wanted to come to the U.S. was to see the Basque people here and get to know their way of life. I wanted to know if it is possible to call these second-, third- and fourth-generation Basque-Americans “Basques.” This article is my answer. In the Basque fashion, I sign with my pseudonym, Iepa!)

Does the eighth Basque province exist? If so, where is it? These are excellent questions. We are clearly Seven in One, but up till now we have fallen short of forming that One, that eighth province. Where can it be?

It is not easy to locate, not is it easy to explain, but even if it's not official, there is an eighth province.

Soon our time will be up and we will gladly set foot once again on the soil of Euskalherria.

You may be asking, what is she talking about? Where is this so-called eighth province? Well, this province cannot be located geographically or politically. It is a province of feeling.

We find it in the mountains of the American West, in the aspen carvings; we find it in the desert mine shafts and in the dances, in Gardnerville's Song Competition and in the summer festivals.

Yes! This province is made up of places in America! Here is Lekeitio Street, and there is Ascuaga's famous hotel, and here we have the dancers, whirling, twirling, jo ta ke. “Step, step, bat, bi, hiru, aurrera!” “Let's go, guys!” all mixed up together, dancing the Behenafarroa march and the Bizkaian expatadantza. The effort is there and you can't deny their energy. The dances express how Basque they feel, it's not a bad thing, and they demonstrate their inner being as best they can.

Not far away (in Reno, Nevada) is the Basque Studies Program, thousands of books and Marcelino Ugalde dancing among them, hau hemen and hori hor. And there are more people there. Jill Berner with her soft, calm voice saying, “Kaixo, zer moduz?” Joan Brick with her elegant earrings amidst the paper and the happiness she distributes with the mail between 10:30 and 11:00. And let's not forget Linda White, promoting euskera, the teacher with the heart of gold.

I must not forget to mention coordinator William Douglass, the one seldom seen and seldom spoken to. What can I say about him? Nothing that has not been said before, only to praise his work. Basque professors give glory to this university. In anthropology and history, they make their mark. Joseba Zulaika explains art and steles, and Jose Mallea follows the footsteps of the sheepherders through the peace of the trees and the mountains.

We are the noisy, chatty “Basque colony,” the young people who arrive every year, the ones studying English or Basque, the ones studying at the university.

Perhaps we come from different places in the Basque Country. Undoubtedly, often we would pass each other there and pay no attention to one another, but our language and the fact that we are in a foreign land soon unite us.

Farther to the north (in Boise, Idaho) we find the Bar Gernika and a lot of generous Bizkaians. They are all very happy to welcome people from the Basque Country, eager to hear the news from there.

The young people say they are Americans but they are different somehow from other people. What can it be? They master euskera, they spread Basque dances, and they long to go to the Basque Country. There must be something special there.

There are stonelifters and woodcutters there. Often there are sheepherders, and you can see ox-pulling contests. There is homesickness in the air.

Head for the warmth again, and in California you hear the voices of Iparralde. The txistu and the dance, pelota and trinquette. They are preparing for a Basque festival, having a big meal together.

How can we deny these people their Basqueness? How can we not say that they are building a little Euskalherria piece by piece, albeit a perfect one, an idealized one.

Their feelings are strong, and although their feet and finances are here in America, often their heads and hearts are in the Basque Country and with this, they earn the honor of being part of it.

.... ... .

Zuberoa

Last but not least, here you have information about the Basque province of Zuberoa.

Zuberoa (also Xiberu or Xüberoa) is a former viscounty and part of the present Iparralde. It is divided into two cantons of the arrondissement (district) of Oloron-Sainte-Marie (Mauleon-Licharre and Tardets-Soraluce), and a part of the canton of Saint Palais (arrondissement of Bayonne).

Its provincial capital is Maule, which fused with Lextarre in 1841 to form "Maule-Lextarre", but today is often known as "Maule". Historically, Zuberoa is the smallest province of the Basque Country (785 sq.km.). Its population has been decreasing.

Geography

The whole territory extends around the axis provided by the river Uhaitza flowing south to north until it joins the Oloron river.

Zuberoa borders:

* in the north with the Oloron river, which divides it from Béarn
* in the east with the Barétous valley in Béarn
* in the south with the Salazar and Roncal valleys in Nafarroa
* in the west with Nafarroa Behera

Zuberoa comprises three geographical areas:

* Pettara in the north
* the forest massif of Arbaila in the west
* Basabürüa in the south, attaining its highest point at 2017 m at the Orhi peak

Culture

After decades of emigration and demographic, social and cultural decay, the territory is showing a strong determination in recovering the lost vitality of centuries ago. Assorted cultural events linked to old traditions bear witness to that dynamism.

There is a tradition of folk musical theatre, the pastoral: the inhabitants of a village spend the year preparing and rehearsing the play and its dances. Traditionally, the subject of the play was Catholic, but recently pieces of Basque history are also presented. Another event akin to the pastoral beloved of the people of Zuberoa is the maskaradas. This theatrical performances are put on in many villages of Zuberoa in carnival time through spring. Each year a specific village takes the responsibility of arranging a new performance. It consists of a music band in due carnival outfit surrounded with a group of set carnivalesque characters and dancers parading up and down the main street of the host village; at the end, they stage an informal play usually in the market place or handball court.

Zuberoa is also renown for its singing tradition, elegant dances and local music instruments, such as xirula and ttun-ttun. These instruments are gaining new dynamism thanks to music schools founded to that end by local cultural activists.

Zuberoa has been a bilingual province for centuries due to the proximity of Béarn, and the Basque souletin dialect has been influenced by the Béarnese romance language. Zuberoan is a dialect of the Basque language spoken in the region.

.... ... .

English Mercenaries in Spain

So get this one, Aznar is so willing to use the situation created in the aftermath that there is reports he allowed English mercenaries to hunt down IRA and ETA members in Spain (and we guess in Euskal Herria, Catalunya and Galiza too).

Of course, Tony Blair couldn't say no to this opportunity to show the international community his "compromise" with the "war on terror", an euphemism being used these days to refer to the loss of locks in different countries that were there to protect the human rights and the civil liberties of their citizens.

Here you have the article published at The Telegraph:

British unit in Spain to track Eta and IRA

By Isambard Wilkinson in Madrid

Last Updated: 11:15PM BST 31 Jul 2002

A highly secret British military unit is operating on Spanish territory gathering intelligence on links between the IRA and Eta, the Basque separatist organisation.

The Telegraph has learned that a special task force including serving and former members of 14 Intelligence Company, a unit closely linked to the SAS, has been on the ground for some time, apparently with Spanish government approval.

According to a military intelligence official, the use of 14 Int was "highly unusual as intelligence work there would normally be carried out by other branches [of the intelligence services]".

The deployment of British troops in operations on the territory of a major European state is likely to have been agreed at the highest level. The intelligence official described it as "highly sensitive".

One intelligence expert expressed surprise at the use of the unit.

"It is a bizarre notion that 14 Int are in Spain operationally," he said, suggesting that MI5 would normally be expected to cover operations connected to the IRA.

In normal circumstances, the unit would monitor terrorist movements on British territory then hand over to Spain's intelligence service if the need arose.

But Spain has been making increasingly vociferous demands for foreign help to crush Eta. Since September 11, Jose Maria Aznar, the prime minister, has sought American and European Union aid to end the 34-year-old conflict, which has killed more than 800 people.

Britain has long supported Spanish efforts to crack down on Eta, which is known to have developed close ties with the IRA.

London is also keen to foster Spain as an ally to bolster Britain's influence within the EU. The charm offensive has resulted in wide-ranging concessions over Gibraltar.

Washington is supplying intelligence material to Spain and has sent a team of FBI agents. But the special skills of the British troops would add a new dimension to the internationalisation of the Basque conflict. The unit's expertise lies in its ability to track and listen to suspects' conversations and communications.

The men and women will be seeking details on the close ties between the IRA and Eta, as well as the exchange of terrorist expertise and even arms.

Links between nationalists in Northern Ireland and the Basque country are well-established. Gerry Adams, the Sinn Fein president, has visited the area many times to meet leaders of Batasuna, Eta's political arm.

Detectives in Northern Ireland have been reported as saying that Eta recently shipped fresh stocks of explosives to the IRA, while the republican group gave bomb-making technology to Eta.

The news of increased outside involvement comes at a difficult time for Eta. France, for years a sanctuary for Eta terrorists, has been taking tough action and Jesus Maria Lariz Iriondo, a senior Eta leader, was arrested in Uruguay yesterday.

But the use of some of Britain's elite troops in Spain is sure to bring criticism that Spanish sovereignty has been infringed.

800 casualties due to the political conflict between Euskal Herria and Spain? Obviously nobody is counting those murdered by the Spanish occupation forces with a figure up in the tens of thousands.

And why are the English so eager to comply with the Spaniards when allegedly the peace process with the IRA is going so well?

.... ... .

The Tour and Euskal Herria

The Tour de France is into its second stage and Lance Armstrong has the yellow jersey on him. He is a great athlete and his story is that of a person that overcomes all kinds of odds and becomes one of the best ever to ride a bike, so far he has three Tour titles under his belt, and he is only two away fro tying the five times record. We can read about it on any sports publication and there is a little coverage about it on the news. What we can not read is about the two fellas that are right behind him, giving him a run for his money. And why is it that nothing is said about these two other competitors?

Well, no one talks about their tiny nation, is taboo in the media to talk about this people unless it serves the purpose of linking them to a terrorist group. Whenever someone from this tiny nation does something great like being on Lance Armstrong's rear wheel on the mountain stage where Lance has no competition, they are called with a different name, the name of the nation that occupies their tiny nation.

At least yesterday they got to see the green, red and white flag of their followers since for a moment, the Tour de France got close to their tiny nation.

Following the step of their conational, the greatest ever cyclist to run the Tour de France, the one and only Mikel Indurain holder of the five times in a row record, this year it is the boys from Gazteiz, the capital city of the Basque Country. Their names? Joseba Beloki and Igor Gonzalez Galdeano (who by the way donned the yellow jersey for most of the first half of the Tour). No bikes have been harmed or killed in their achievement, so we hope there is no need for people to call them dumb for what they are doing. But you can always count on idiots like this one to attack what they don't understand.

This cheer goes to Joseba Beloki and Igor Gonzalez Galdeano, from the team Once Eroski and their achievements so far in the Tour d' France!

.... ... .

The Basques in Mexico

This is a report by the Center for Basque Studies at the University of Nevada in Reno about the influx of immigrants from Euskal Herria to Mexico.

Enjoy it:

The Basques in the Mexican Regions: 16th - 20th Centuries

An International Conference

by J. Mallea Olaetxe

On my way to the “Basques in the Mexican Regions” conference held in Mexico, a conference that would examine the role of Basques in that area since the 16th century, my fellow fliers and I experienced a very 20th century fright. As our plane descended, the back wheels had barely touched ground when, unexpectedly, the jet engines roared, and with some alarm, we noticed the nose of the airplane tilt steeply skyward scrambling to gain altitude. For a few tense seconds, not knowing what was happening, the passengers froze. A couple of minutes later we were circling high above the immense Mexican metropolis. Calmly, the captain explained over the intercom that the tower had ordered him back in the air because he was too close to the plane landing ahead of us. Except for this incident, everything else about the trip turned out beautifully.

The conference took place in Jalapa, in the state of Veracruz, Mexico, On December 7-9, 1994. Jalapa is an enchanting city nestled in mountainous terrain where the forest is interrupted by grassy fields dotted with dairy cows. The ambience seemed exotic, with noisy tropical birds that awoke us every morning, banana trees,coffee plantations, and rain-forest vegetation. But it did not rain and the weather could not have been better.

Well Represented

There had been thirty-one participants scheduled to attend the first international conference on Basques in Mexico, but actually only twenty-seven papers were read. The scholars came from all over Mexico, Euskadi, and Nevada, and they represented nineteen academic institutions and universities. The conference, organized by the Instituto de Investigaciones Históricas (IIH) of the Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), was hosted by the Universidad Veracruzana of Jalapa. IIH has received a three-year grant to organize such endeavors. Earlier in 1993 it hosted a symposium in Mexico City in celebration of the bicentennial of the Real Academia Vascongada de los Amigos del País.

The coordinator of the conference, Amaya Garritz Ruíz, is a native of Mexico City. Her parents immigrated from the Basque Country during the 1936-39 Spanish Civil War. She recently completed coordinating a five-volume bibliographical work-soon to be published-and she is presently embarking on a dictionary of Basques in Mexico.

Only a minority of the scholars from Mexico had previously studied Basque topics. Most speakers knew little about the geography or history of Euskal Herria. For example, some did not know that the Nafarroans were Basque, and one Anglo-Saxon participant of the conference kept referring to the Basques as a Latin group. Nevertheless, the level of informatio presented to the audience was significant. I was surprised at the wealth of documentation available in Mexican archives that many students of Basque would like to get their hands on.

Everyone agreed that in the past, Mexican history had not distinguished sufficiently the various groups of Peninsulares (immigrants from the Iberian Peninsula). There was a consensus to foster cooperation among the academic institutions interested in studying such regional subjects.

According to the documentation presented, most Basques-and other groups from Spain-emigrated for the following reasons:

1. They had a relative in Mexico. 2. They sought to better their lives. 3. They came to Mexico with jobs, such as public offices in government, the military, and in the church.

Summary of the Discussions

Most speakers dealt with highlights of prominent Basque figures, officials, businessmen, merchants, etc. The issue of nobility was an attention-grabber among the Mexican scholars at the conference. Indeed, nobility involved more than a title or mere social status; it often entailed economic benefits that well-connected individuals expected to receive from their association with the powerful. In general, all Basques claimed noble status, which permitted them to secure jobs in the Hapsburg and Bourbon bureacracies. A number of them worked as accountants, while a privileged few were employed by the secretive Holy Office. It all started when the Bizkaian Juan Zumarraga, the first bishop and inquisitor of Mexico, surrounded himself with compatriots.

Nobles were supposed to lead exemplary lives, even on their death beds. Before dying they often instituted trust funds or left donations for various altruistic purposes in Mexico and in their hometowns in Europe.

Another aspect that was made fairly clear at the conference was the tendency of Basques to associate themselves with compatriots, to marry other Basques, and thus establish an oligarchy. But in most cases, these affinities did not last forever, as intermarriages, economic or political adversities took their toll, chipping away at ethnic values.

A considerable number of immigrants reaching prominence came from Araba and from Bizkaia’s Enkarterri region. Few in either group spoke euskara. Many young men came from Nafarroa. Near the turn of the century, people from the valley of Baztan monopolized bread baking in Mexico City. One individual alone owned over eighty bakeries. These people often returned to their hometowns to marry local women.

There were a good number of Basque entrepreneurs in most Mexican regions. The Castaños-Agirre consortium, both from Bizkaia, owned ships, cloth factories, and haciendas in Tepic. In northwest Mexico, near the U.S. border, Maiz and F. Armendariz ran extensive ranching activities in the 1910 decade. From 1795 to 1810 in Valladolid, Michoac n, there were more than two hundred Basques involved in the church, government, commerce, ranching, mines, and sugar factories. Juan Basagoiti was perhaps the most prominent personality among them. In Morelos and Cuernavaca, Basques owned sugar factories. In the second half of the eighteenth century, Pátzcuaro witnessed a heavy Basque presence. Some of the Basques there were public officials and others were mining operators of merchants trading with the Orient via Acapulco. In 1785 the organization Amigos del País counted sixteen members in Pátzcuaro, and two years later nine out of ten city councilmen were Basques.

Of course land has always attracted all sorts of immigrants, including Basques. Some accumulated huge tracts. In the early part of the eighteenth century, Joaquín Fermín Echauri of Nafarroa established a mayorazgo (land entailment) in Guadalajara, which included over 360,000 acres. But it paled in comparison with the territories controlled or claimed by Francisco Urdi¤ola, governor of Nueva Vizcaya, in the El Parral area.

Naturally, the lives of the better-known Basque figures in Mexican history, such as Bishop Zumarraga, Francisco Ibarra, etc. were also dealt with at the conference. In each case, ethnicity was perceived as a factor that influenced their activities. The great Zumarraga demonstrated nepotistic tendencies as well. He was the author of one of the oldest documents in euskara, and the motivation behind it is pivotal to understanding his life. In 1537 he wrote a letter to a distant relative in Durango, Bizkaia, his hometown. The letter was fairly long and most of it was written in Castilian. However, about four hundred words are in euskara, where he explained that on his behalf and secretly, some Basque shipmasters were smuggling money into Durango. He did not want any Castilian official to understand these matters in case the letter fell into their hands.

Most immigrants did not return to Europe, but a good number sent money to their relatives regularly. If the amounts were large, the transactions were usually made through banks in London, France, or even Cuba.

A Void

Cultural aspects were almost totally absent from the conference presentations, and this void was deeply felt. Only one speaker mentioned euskara at all. (Sadly, the participant scheduled to talk about Bishop Zumarraga’s letter in the vernacular did not attend the conference). It is clear that the role played by euskara was not as important in Mexico as in the American West.

Two groups received very little attention: women and less-successful Basque immigrants. In part, this was due to the fact that the participant scheduled to discuss Basque women in Mexico did not show up. At least one researcher made it known that she was investigating women-related topics. Mexico City may very well be a good choice for conducting such a study, for it is home to the incomparable Colegio de las Vizcaínas, a school for Basque women. The school is, no doubt, a symbol of what women represent in Basque society. The huge palatial building was inaugurated in 1767 and it is still open for business. Currently, the Colegio is collecting and compiling a Basque library.

During my last day in Mexico I was introduced to yet another aspect of Basque culture in the world. Through the agencies of the Bizkaian Jon Larrucdea, I stayed at the Hotel El Salvador, located a short walk away from El Colegio de las Vizca¡nas. The owner of the hotel, Manolo Ojeda, from Concejo de Llanez (Asturias, Spain), told me that in his hometown people speak xiriga, which is a dialect sprinkled with Basque words. I was intrigued. I vaguely remembered reading about this phenomenon in one of Julio Caro Baroja’s books, but I had never met anyone who actually spoke xiriga.

Here is a short list of the words that Mr. Ojeda graciously shared with me, with the Basque equivalents in bold:

Chacurro/a, zakur = dog (male/female)
Bai, bai = yes
Xagardua, sagardo = apple cider
Araguia, aragi = meat
Oreta, ur = water
Urdiz, urdai = bacon
Belarda, belarri = ear
Idia/idion, idi = oxen (normal size/large)
Uzquia, eguzki = sun (in xiriga means hot weather)
Racha, arrats = late afternoon (in xiriga, night)

I asked Mr. Ojeda if he had any clues regarding the origin of xiriga, but he did not volunteer an answer. I believe Caro Baroja attributed such euskara exports to groups of traveling Basque stone masons and craftsmen that in past centuries obtained contracts in different parts of Spain.

Closing Thoughts

So, generally speaking, how do Mexican scholars view the Basques? For some, they constituted the elite; others believed that the Basques in Mexico comprised a powerful group, marked by influential figures, such as Zumarraga. However, what struck me the most was an assessment put forth by several colleagues. They stated that the Extremadurans had conquered Mexico for Castile, but the Basques had freed it. They were referring to Mexico’s war of independence from Spain in which leaders with Basque surnames appeared in disproportionately high numbers.

The participants of the conference acknowledged that we need to share research methodologies. One obvious example was the lack of consensus in the transcription of so many Basque names that are still misspelled, or spelled differently.

Everyone agreed that the conference was a success and that it should serve as a stepping stone for future seminars. It will certainly advance the quality and quantity of Basque studies around the world.

.... ... .

José Antonio Aguirre's Bio III

You may be thinking that I forgot all about the third part of the Lehendakari Aguirre's bio.

Well, you may be right, but hey, better late than never.

Here you have it:

Jose Antonio Aguirre y Lekube

A Basque Professor at Columbia University

by Prof. Gorka Aulestia, University of Deusto

In America

The Basques owe a great debt to that blessed continent! Venezuela accepted Agirre’s family, a Panamanian consul saved his life, and a North American consul waited for him in the port to offer him a permanent resident visa in New York, plus a position at Columbia University as a professor of contemporary history. The lehendakari continued his journey, and when he arrived in Uruguay he could at last declare his true identity (on October 9, 1941) and leave “Alvarez Lastra” behind forever.

Professor and Lecturer in the USA

In December of 1941, the Agirre-Zabala family left Uruguay and headed for New York where they were received as honored guests by huge crowds of people. This simple man, symbol of a small defeated nation, spoke next to the Statue of Liberty, head held high, “in the name of man whom God created to be free and not a slave.” The Basques of New York congregated at the mythical Valentín Agirre’s restaurant Jai-Alai, and later 1,500 Americans gathered by the American Committee of the Nobel Prize in the Astoria Hotel listened with feeling to the words of the Basque fighter: “We do not want to die. We do not have to die. A people does not die except by its own ignominy.”

In New York Agirre gave classes at Columbia and prepared his book Escape Via Berlin, published in May 1942. He also wrote an unfinished History of the Basque Country, 520 typewritten pages with 120 more in longhand. In his courses he spoke of democracy, freedom, justice, peace and tolerance. He focused especially on a new European political order based on freedom, a precursor of the Common Market and the idea of Christian democracy. He energetically unmasked the European mega-nations that trod upon the rights of the smaller nations. Agirre was a man of peace, a fervent admirer of Ghandi, who was forced by circumstances beyond his control to take up arms in an unjust and unequal war.

The Basque Diaspora

The Basque diaspora was one of Agirre’s main priorities. From his New York apartment or his exiled government base in Paris, he was like a shepherd tending his flock. He made repeated visits to the most important Basque communities throughout the American continent, trying to mobilize and organize the scattered community. He was well received everywhere and could always count on the support of democratic circles in South America. His hope and optimism were summed up in his famous phrase: “Next year, at home.”

At the Centro Vasco in Buenos Aires the old Basque liberties echoed. “We will not quit until the Tree of Gernika casts a shadow on free land.” In the Laurak Bat society of Montevideo he inaugurated the Día del Euskera, or Day of the Basque Language, while demanding that Basques unite. In Chile he presided over the First International Conference on Christian Democracy in Latin America and took part in the Día del Euskera, speaking Basque, of course.

The Return to Europe

In 1946 Agirre returned to Europe for good. In Paris he participated in the creation of the International League of Friends of the Basques. It attracted more than 50,000 members including churchmen (Cardinals Verdìer and Griffin), politicians (E. Herriot, M. Shumann, G. Bidault), and writers (F. Mauriac, J. Maritain).

In 1949 he took part in the European Congress in Brussels in the capacity of honorary Vice-President along with his friend A. de Gasperi and Winston Churchill, honorary presidents of that meeting.

The year 1959 was one of the worst for Agirre, for the French forced the Basque government to relinquish its space on Marceau Avenue, accusing them of buying it with money taken from Spain. Once more the lehendakari turned to the American communities with whose help he was able to buy a house to live in. He expressed his sadness: “How few understand us!” But he continued the fight with the same hope and enthusiasm.

The First Worldwide Basque Conference

The first Worldwide Basque Conference began in September, 1956. Agirre opened the conference with a memorable speech that examined his twenty years in the Basque Government (one year in power and nineteen in exile). He humbly recognized his mistakes and his failures, one of which he felt was not being able to stop Franco from entering international organizations. The following year he could no longer contain his sadness, and he exclaimed, “The strongest reason supporting the regime that oppresses the people of the peninsula is the bayonet, and the dollars that the North Americans give him [Franco].”

His Death

From that time on Agirre continued to live with dignity, but he felt deceived and politically abandoned by the treason of the Allies. Once more, force proved superior to reason. Jose Antonio Agirre y Lekube, first lehendakaria of Euskadi, died on March 22, 1960 of a heart attack. The news of his death was a great blow to Basques and democratic friends around the world. His body was shipped from Paris to Donibane Lohitzun where it spent a night in the Monzón house. He was buried on March 28 after a funeral mass at the Donibane parish church. In spite of warnings and prohibitions by Franco’s government, all levels of Basque society gathered there to bid farewell to a great ambassador of Basque values, a great fighter who was dignified in the face of defeat, a loyal friend whose only adversaries were enemies of liberty.

More than 30 years have passed and yet Agirre’s absence is still felt within the Basque nationalist family. Lehendakari, Joseba Andoni, Goian Bego!

.... ... .

Nafarroa Behera

Nafarroa Beherea (or Behe-Nafarroa) is a province of Euskal Herria located in Iparralde. The province is bordered by Lapurdi to the NW, the Landas to the N, Zuberoa to the SE and Nafarroa to the S.

Along with Nafarroa, it was once ruled by the Kings of Navarre. Nafarroa Behera was historically part of the kingdom of Navarre. Its capital cities were Donibane Garazi and Donapaleu in Basque. In the extreme north there was the little sovereign principality of Bidache.

Its extent is of 1,284 sq.km., and has a decreasing population.

Although this denomination is not completely correct from the historical point of view, it is also known as Merindad de Ultrapuertos ("the regions beyond the mountain passes") by the southerners, and Deça-ports ("this side of the mountain passes") by the gascon-speakers.

Geography

Nafarroa Behera is a collection of valleys in the foothills of the Pyrenees. The Aldudes valley, around the town of Baigorri in the south of Nafarroa Behera, preserves many old traditions, with houses of pink sandstone and contests of Force Basque, the games of strength. The Irulegi (Irouléguy) wines are produced in the are around the town of Irulegi.

The river Errobi rises in Nafarroa Behera and flows through the province and on to Baiona, where it meets the Aturri. Beyond Donibane Garazi itself, the Errobi enters the Ortzaitze valley, with many beautiful old houses with carved lintels in the villages of Ortzaitzae Irizarri and Bidarrai. A reserve for the pottok, the wild Basque Pyrennean pony, in the valley conserves this rare breed.

North of Doninabe Garazi is the Mixe region around the town of Donapaleu, a former Navarrese capital. Although close to Béarn, Basque influence and traditions are strong. Lower Navarrese is a dialect of the Basque language spoken in the region. Just south of Donapaleu, the three principal routes to Santiago de Compostela on the Way of St James met at the hamlet of Izura Azme, bringing much wealth and trade to the area in medieval times.

The Way of St James headed south from Donibane Garazi towards the mountain pass above Orreaga. Pilgrims travelled across the Cixe region of Nafarroa Behera on their way to Nafarroa across the mountains. In these rolling hills, ewes' milk cheese, pur brebis, is commonly made, including Istara (Ossau-Iraty) cheese. Villages like Ezterenzubi and Lekunberri are popular for agro-tourism and the Irati beech forest on the border with Hegoalde is known for its views and history. Dolmens and other neolithic monuments dot the landscape, including the Tour d'Urculu high in the mountains at 1,149m—a 2,000-year-old circular platform of huge stone blocks.

So now you have basic information about the provinces of Araba, Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa, Lapurdi, Nafarroa and Nafarroa Behera. There is only one more to go, Zuberoa.

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Wales and Euskal Herria

The Guardian published this article that reflects the lessons that can be shared between the Basques and the Welsh:

Basque in glory

Wales has much to learn from successes of the Basque country , writes the Plaid Cymru president, Ieuan Wyn Jones

Thursday June 13 2002 10:53 BST

My visit to the Basque country came 20 years after its people had secured a high degree of autonomy within the Spanish state. In the early 1980s they established a parliament with legislative powers, they had the ability to raise their own taxes and expectations were high that self-government would restore their confidence as a nation.

I wanted to gauge the extent to which those expectations had been met. They must have been doing something right; the nationalist parties have been in power for all this period. I was also visiting at an important time in the Welsh electoral calendar, 12 months before the next election to the Welsh assembly.

Currently, the Basque government is run by a coalition of three parties, with the nationalist PNV being the senior partner. Their partners are the EA, a smaller nationalist party and an even smaller left wing/green group. I also wanted to see how the nationalist parties worked in government, how coalition government worked and what tensions existed after the Spanish parties - the PP and socialists - made a massive effort to unseat them in the 2001 elections.

The Basques seem to be at ease with their identity, and the confidence they exude as a nation is everywhere. They know exactly who they are, and are proud of the fact that Franco's terrible regime failed to extinguish their sense of nationhood or their love of their language. And there is very little support for violence or terrorism. The vast majority of Basques see constitutional politics as the only way forward.

Their self-belief and confidence is best exemplified by their audacious - and ultimately successful - bid to secure a new Guggenheim museum. The magnificent Frank O. Gehry building in the heart of Bilbao is a 21st-century architectural icon, and attracts visitors from all over the world. Bilbao, once a city in decline following the collapse of its shipbuilding industry, is now a modern, prosperous city which regularly appears on the must-see lists of wealthy tourists.

In 20 years of autonomy, the Basques have seen their economy grow to being the most successful in the Spanish state. The current growth rate of 5.3% compares favourably with any country in Europe, twice the UK rate, and almost four times as much as Wales. The Welsh are falling behind the rest of the UK, while the Basques are striding way ahead the rest of Spain.

The Basques' success is based on sound economics, and this has enabled them to improve their public services. I was particularly impressed with their commitment to education. We have a lot to learn from them in the strategic and focused way their system of education and training meets the needs of their growing economy.

When the Basque parliament was first established, the Basque language faced the same crisis as that which faces the Welsh language today. About 25% of the Basques spoke their language then, a figure which compares to the 20% who speak Welsh. They also faced a similar situation, in that Basque speakers were largely concentrated in parts of the country. In Wales, most areas where Welsh is spoken by a majority of the population are in the north and west of our country.

But the Basques have made determined efforts, largely through education, to substantially increase the number of Basque speakers. They have made significant progress, and some people we spoke to said that up to 50% of the population has some grasp of the language. This is extraordinary, given that the language was banned during the Franco period.

There are clear differences between Wales and the Basque country, and it would be foolish to think that what they have done could be slavishly replicated in Wales. But one lesson that I took away from my visit was that we have to raise our game in Wales.

The first term of the national assembly in Cardiff Bay has been characterised by awful timidity, caution and petty squabbling. No wonder people think it is a glorified county council, under the current Labour-led coalition it acts like one. Wales deserves better than this.

With leadership, a bit of audacity, clear vision, determination and strategic thought, Wales' fortunes can be turned round. But we have to think big. I want a Plaid Cymru government in the national assembly to give the people of Wales a reason to be proud of our nation, and to improve our flagging economic fortunes.

Although we could not replicate precise policy initiatives, we can match the Basque's spirit and confidence. Wales can and must replicate their success.

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José Antonio Aguirre's Bio II

As promised, here you have the second installment on José Antonio Aguirre's bio:

Jose Antonio Aguirre y Lekube

A Basque Professor at Columbia University

by Prof. Gorka Aulestia, University of Deusto

Mayor and Parliamentarian

Jose Antonio followed those events with concern but with optimism for the future. He was at the time mayor of Getxo. He missed no occasion to speak publicly. He wanted young Basques to be studious. He spoke to workers of their rights. He tried to make women see their role in the future of Euskadi.

Primo de Rivera’s Spanish dictatorship finally fell in January of 1930. On the morning of April 14, 1931, Eibar proclaimed the Spanish Republic and our young mayor of Getxo did the same hours later in the name of his party.

Agirre was a born organizer. Within the PNV, almost continually in conflict, he stanched wounds and united personal wills. On July 14, 1931, the Cortes Constituyentes (Constituent Courts) were formed and Agirre took part as a parliamentarian within the small Basque minority group.

Those were convulsive years during which religion was offended even in the Cortes. The Basques were insulted and jeered, their language euskara was mocked, and little by little what started out as a breath of liberating air became a disappointment for Agirre and many Basques. Faced with parliamentarians of more advanced years armed with science, like Unamuno, Ortega y Gasset, Besteiro, Alcala Zamora, Azaña, Prieto, and Gil Robles, 27-year-old Agirre broke the mold of the two irreconcilable Spains by speaking of a New Spain of autonomous nations. He declared himself Catholic and nationalist, and developed a reputation as an able parliamentary negotiator.

But in response to his political demands, the Republic sent the Guardia Civil to break up the meeting between parliamentarians and Basques beneath the Tree of Gernika. In 1932 the Jesuits were expelled from Spain, as were the Jews and the Moors centuries before, thereby incurring more disfavor. Jose Antonio opposed Madrid in this matter.

On the personal level, Agirre married on July 8, 1933 in the Basilica of Begoña. With his wife María Zabala, he had three children, Aintzane, Joseba, and Iñaki, born in Bilbao, Paris, and New York respectively.

Agirre’s health deteriorated greatly during 1932 and 1933, so much so that on July 4, 1933 he stepped down as mayor of Getxo. In 1934, in spite of his parliamentary immunity, he was imprisoned at Larriñaga, but he was not cowed by the experience. His people beaten, slandered, persecuted, and imprisoned, the young representative began to demand the Statute [of Autonomy] and to speak of Euskadi’s aspirations for sovereignty. In 1935 he spoke in euskara before an international forum at a Conference on Nationalities in Geneva. That same year he published his book Entre la libertad y la revolución in which he told of his political experiences during the five years of the Spanish Republic.

The Civil War

The Spanish Civil War broke out on July 18, 1936. Agirre acquitted himself well during the conflict. On October 1, 1936 the Spanish Cortes approved the Basque Country’s Statute of Autonomy. On October 7 Agirre offered his life to the service of Euskadi in the Basilica of Begoña, and in Gernika he was elected President of the Basque Autonomous Government, with three-quarters of his territory in the hands of Franco’s troops.

The new lehendakari and his government, composed of a group of young politicians, were obliged to take on three dangerous and nearly impossible tasks: maintaining resistance in an unevenly matched war; being the leaders of all Basques with a multicolor government that did not skimp in its efforts or sacrifices to unite all the Basque political forces; and organizing a small nation with its own army, passports, and money.

The war was lost, and thus began the exile and exodus of more than 150,000 Basques. The lehendakari was forced to flee Euskadi in July of 1937, only one year into the war. He would never set foot on his native soil again. From Trucios, the last little village in Bizkaia, Agirre wrote these heartfelt lines full of confidence and hope: “The territory may have been conquered; but the soul of the Basque People has not; nor will it ever be.”

In Exile

An enormous task awaited Agirre in France. He had to organize the Basques in exile, regroup families, create children’s colonies, maintain contact with the Basque diaspora, escape the Gestapo and assure his own survival. The Gestapo had arrested his friend Companys, president of the Generalitat de Catalunya, in France, to send him to Spain to be executed in Barcelona. On May 8, 1940, Agirre moved from France to Belgium. There he found his mother who had been fined 3 million pesetas by the Franco authorities. Two days later Hitler’s troops invaded the Low Countries and surprised the lehendakari in Belgium. Misfortune piled upon misfortune, and his sister Encarna was killed in the Nazi bombing of La Panne. The Falangists of the Spanish consulate rubbed their hands in anticipation of capturing a big fish, the president of the Basques. Thus began the great odyssey described by Agirre in his book Escape Via Berlin, a chronicle of his fight for freedom. In it he says, “Our entire history is nothing but our people's most constant, persistent struggle for freedom.”

From the beginning of the Second World War (October 1939) Agirre urged free Basques to support the Allied cause. “We are fighters in this war.” He was the best symbol of a man fighting for freedom. He crossed the German front lines and hid in the Jesuit school St. Francis Xavier in Brussels. When the Gestapo began to register the convents in Brussels, he fled to Antwerp. Thanks to a false passport provided by the Panamanian consul, Agirre became “Dr. Alvarez Lastra,” citizen of Panama, completing his transformation with eyeglasses and a beautiful moustache. Later, he decided the best way to throw the Gestapo off his track was to hide in the wolf’s den, so he traveled to Berlin on January 7, 1941, and lived close by the Chancellery of the Reich for more than four months. After being reunited with his family, he managed to travel to Sweden on April 30.

New problems awaited “Alvarez” in the Swedish port of Göteborg because there were not enough ships leaving for America to accommodate all the people fleeing the war and the Nazi concentration camps. At last, after revealing his true identity to the Swedish customs officer, he obtained four tickets for passage on the Brazilian cargo ship Vasaholm that sailed on July 31, 1941. It arrived in Río de Janeiro on August 27.

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