Astero
EUTSI: Basque Hero Profiles
A culture survives only if it finds a means of transmission from one generation to the next, and much of the work is done in oftentimes unacknowledged fashion. This is an ongoing profile series of silent Basque heroes; i.e., people quietly toiling to keep our Basque culture alive and moving it along. To them--and hopefully others who will join them--we say EUTSI*: "keep it up!"
Maria Kaltzada | Jose Ramon Cengotitabengoa | Patty Miller | Miren Aizpitarte
Maria Kaltzada
Basque Language Tearcher in Euskadi and the US
Maria has taught Euskara for twenty years in the Basque Country. Now for two summers in a row she has traveled to California to participate in conversation classes to help the Basques of Chino learn Euskara. The work of a Basque teacher is never done.
"EUTSI" in Euskara means to maintain or sustain. That is what we'd like to say to Maria Kaltzada. It all started with a dream of going to California, and to see for herself the Basques who lived there. When a response came that the Chino Basque Club would host her for a series of Basque language classes, Maria went and bought her airline ticket and was off. The first trip was in the summer of 2006, and it went so well, she returned the following summer.
Maria is from Dima, in the province of Bizkaia, where she has worked over the last twenty years teaching Euskara, currently at Ulibarri Euskaltegi (Basque language school). She is committed to this because she believes that language is a key element of a people and culture. When asked why couldn't the Basques do like the Irish, who made a linguistic shift more-so to English from Irish, she replied that maybe "we are more stubborn." But it was more than that she continued. "Basques refer to themselves as Euskalduna, which if you look in the dictionary means one who speaks Basques." It is the language of Euskara, therefore, that has served to define the Basque people for thousands of years.
Euskara is Europe's oldest language. What this means is that when the Romans arrived at their European homeland, they found a people there they called the "Vascones" who spoke their own language. From the Roman Latin later derived the languages of today's neighbors of the Basques.
Maria derives great pleasure from her job when a student really learns the language, but it's not just the language. The greatest reward for her is being able to add another speaker of Basque, thus being able to introduce someone else into the "hidden world" of the Basques. While teaching the language she endeavors to transmit the culture and traditions of the Basques, some of which are not readily accessible to non-Basque speakers because frankly, some things just don't translate. Her work allows people to go into the world of the Basques that is not necessarily self-evident even in the Basque Country!
Entering this Basque world, Maria stated, will surely yield many surprises. "You'll find that as a people we are hard workers, but more importantly we're also a nice, decent people." She's not certain of the exact origin of these cultural traits, but believes that as a people Basques have been transmitting these and other aspects continuously across the generations.
Generally optimistic in outlook, Maria confides that all is not well in the Basque world. "We are experiencing a cultural crisis where we have lost our way in some respects" she stated, "as if we are now orphaned." In terms of the language, she has found that most "do not learn it out of a genuine desire; they don't really internalize it." Too often, she finds, people in the Basque Country conclude that they don't need to bother learning Euskara "because they can get by in Spanish [or French]." While the number of people who know Basque continues to grow, the actual number of people who use the language remains constant." Euskadi (the provinces of Araba, Bizkaia & Gipuzkoa) has two official languages but "a good many people are put-off by having to learn and use Euskara" she laments.
Shifting to her experience of teaching Basque at the Chino Basque Club in California, she spoke about how impressed she was by the degree of "Euskara use after 40 or 50 years among the immigrant generation. Many have also passed Euskara on to the children." In Chino she found some wanting to learn the Basque language even though in the Basque Diaspora (Euspora) there was even less practical use than in the Basque homeland. Here she believed that European Basques had something to learn from the Basques living in the Diaspora. But she admitted that most Europeans are unaware of what happens here in our Basque communities.
Maria continues to work to teach the language, both in Euskadi and when she can here in the U.S., because she believes that there is still a window of opportunity "but we need the will and a stronger commitment." There will continue to be "more hard work ahead if we are going to succeed in keeping Europe's oldest language alive."
Her final comment were words of congratulations and thanks to those who are working here to preserve the Basque language. They too have understood what is at hand, as stated in an Oskorri song "Ez al dakizu Euskara dela, Euskaldun egiten gaituena" (Don't you know that it is speaking Basque that makes us Basque)? Her final statement was EUTSI EUSKARARI!
Jose Ramon Cengotitabengoa
Promoter of Basque Culture
"EUTSI" in Euskara means to maintain or sustain. That is what we'd like to say to José Ramón Cengotitabengoa. On the 30th anniversary of the Society of Basque Studies that he helped to found, Jose Ramon finally gets his turn at being honored by being inducted into the Basque Hall of Fame.
Noiz|When: Nov. 7, 2009 @ 1PM
Zer|What: The Washington, DC, Euskal Etxea/Basque Club (WDCEE) is proud to welcome the Society of Basque Studies in America to celebrate the 29th Basque Hall of Fame in Washington, DC, to honor the contributions that JOSE RAMON CENGOTITABENGOA has made to Basque culture, welfare, and identity.
Non|Where: Please join us in celebrating the 29th Basque Hall of Fame with a delicious lunch, at Bistro d'Oc (518 10th St NW)
To RSVP please send $40/person (checks should be made to the Society of Basque Studies in America), by October 23, 2009, to:
The Society of Basque Studies in America
c/o Sam Zengotitabengoa
5422 1st St., NE
Washington, DC 20011
Founded in San Francisco, California in 1979, the Society of Basque Studies in America is a non-profit organization dedicated to the study and dissemination of Basque culture, tradition, customs, and folklore in America. The intention of the organization was disseminating current knowledge regarding Basques worldwide so that others could learn of their distinctive heritage, ancient language, customs, and traditions in the United States. This is a small, self-financed organization consisting of President Jose Ramon Cengotitabengoa, Vice-President Emilia Doyaga, and Secretary Ana Aguirre.
Past Projects:
National Monument to the Basque Sheepherder in Reno, Nevada (1989). The Society promoted the creation of the monument of the Basque Sheepherder in Reno, Nevada. The monument, designed by Basque sculptor Nestor Basterretxea, was designed to commemorate the sacrifices of thousands of young Basques who came to America to herd sheep.
Exposition of Basque Sculptors (1994). The Basque Government supported a Basque exposition on Basque Culture in Chicago, Illinois. Three Basque sculptors came: Vicente Larrea, Remigio Mendiburu, and Nestor Basterretxea. Conferences were organized by the Society of Basque Studies in the Art Institute of Chicago.
Gift of the Basque Fishing Boat: Trainera "Ameriketatik" The Society supported the construction of an original Basque Trainera (fishing boat)as gift of gratitude to the land of Basque heritage. This trainera was a donation of the Basques of the Americas to Euskal Herria, hence the name Ameriketatik. Currently, the trainera is located at the Donibane Pasaia port in Gipuzkoa.
Current Projects:
Journal of the Society of Basque Studies in America. The journal is a collection of articles generally written by professors about the Basque culture and is published on a yearly basis. This effort concentrates on disseminating information to an English-speaking audience. This journal is then sent to the most important university libraries in the United States.
Basque Hall of Fame. Also, for the past 25 years, the Society of Basque Studies in America has been celebrating the Basque Hall of Fame – a tribute to individuals or institutions that have done something to promote Basque culture in the Americas. They can be of Basque or non-Basque descent, but living in the Americas. This has been done in many different cities where there are Basque communities in the United States as well as in Argentina and Mexico. See the Hall of Fame ceremony recently celebrated in Boise, Idaho.
Patty Miller
Director of Boise's Basque Museum and Cultural Center
Our Basque community continues to thrive because of the hard work done by dedicated individuals, and sometimes they get noticed even by our neighbors. Recently Patty Miller, the director of Boise's Basque Museum & Cultural Center, received the Idaho Humanities Council's "Outstanding Achievement in the Humanities" award. Eutsi Patty!
This story is reproduced here in case it is re/moved from the original web posting at http://www.idahohumanities.org/?p=news_item&id=100
The IHC honored Boise Basque Museum and Cultural Center Director Patty A. Miller with IHC’s Award for “Outstanding Achievement in the Humanities” at a dessert reception and award presentation ceremony in February at the Basque Cultural Center in Boise.
The IHC annually recognizes an individual or organization for outstanding contributions that promote greater public awareness, appreciation, and understanding of the humanities in Idaho. The IHC selected Miller to receive the award because of her longstanding commitment to the public humanities and her work to promote greater public understanding of Basque history and culture.
A third-generation Idahoan of Basque ancestry, Patty was a founding board member of the Basque Museum in 1985, and was asked to be the Executive Director of Boise’s Basque Museum & Cultural Center in 1993. Over the years, she’s been instrumental in helping to develop the Basque Block as a cultural jewel for the City of Boise. Her work has strengthened the Basque community in so many ways—from preserving buildings and teaching the Basque language, to developing interpretive exhibits that enhance greater awareness, appreciation, and understanding of Idaho history and Basque culture in particular. She has been involved over the years in the Oinkari Basque Dancers (1976–1987), Biotzetik Basque Choir (1986-2004), and Gaupasa Basque Folk Band (1996-2006). At the heart of every organization is someone who inspires it to be all it can be. For the Basque Museum and Cultural Center, that person is Patty A. Miller.
What Patty has done for the Basque Museum has been instructive as well to members of the Idaho Association of Museums, which elected her President of the organization in 2006. A graduate of Boise High School and the University of Idaho, she has devoted her life to the Basque community. In the words of Bishop Kelly President and IHC Board Member Dave Lachiondo, in addition to her accomplishments, Patty is “wonderfully kind, relentlessly upbeat, incredibly humble . . . and a fantastic ambassador for the Basque community, the City of Boise, the State of Idaho, and the human race.”
Community activist and fellow IHC board member Alice Hennessey, Boise, concurs: “I want to emphasize Patty’s work ethic,” Hennessey says. “She has never worried about the wording of her job description. She’s endlessly generous with her time and experience in helping other museums in the state to learn to grow. Sharing is essentially her middle name. She welcomes groups to the Basque Museum and Cultural Center with the same warmth and hospitality that she would show visitors to her own home.”
Over 100 friends, colleagues and family members attended the award ceremony. BSU History Professor John Bieter, Roy Eiguren, Dave Lachiondo, Alice Hennessey and surprise guest historian Arthur Hart, read tributes and helped roast Miller before she made a presentation.
Miren Aizpitarte
Idaho's Distinguished Student Award
Recently Miren Aizpitarte, musician for the Oinkari Basque Dancers, was awarded the Idaho "Distinguished Student Award." In an interview she stated that "it doesn't matter how much Basque you are, but how involved you are with it." Exactly! Eutsi ("sustain/keep it going") Miren!
Idaho Basque Miren Aizpitarte, a senior at Rocky Mountain High School in Meridian, Idaho, was recently awarded (Jan. 2011) Idaho's Distinguished Student Award where the local news highlighted her accomplishments. In the course of a TV profile, her involvement in the Basque community came out as posted at www.ktvb.com. It is this level of involvement that we celebrate.
Her credentials for this award were impeccable: while maintaining over a 4.0, she is involved in National Honors Society, the vice president of KEY club, on the varsity tennis team, and is in many advanced classes. As she spends time being a student athletic trainer at her school, she also is an intern with the athletic trainer at Idaho Stampede basketball team.
Miren developed her interest in music when she started playing the piano at age six and two years later, she began learning the accordion in the Boise Basque group Txantxangorriak (accordion/tambourine ensemble). When she hit middle school, she played alto saxophone in band as well as the jazz band. She continued to play in the varsity marching band her freshman year of high school. After Basque dancing in Boiseko Gazteak since she was in preschool, Miren continued Basque dancing with the Oinkari Basque Dancers of Boise, Idaho. Also starting her freshman year, she volunteers for Boiseko Gazteak, teaching children Basque dancing and playing the accordion.
It was the beginning of her Sophomore year when she learned to play the unique, rare instrument called Alboka. She is self-taught on the instrument and plays it for the Oinkaris and the local Basque band "Amuma Says No." Recently, Miren has had the opportunity of traveling to Ellis Island and Shanghai, China with the Oinkari Basque Dancers. She was able to represent her culture by dancing and playing the alboka for the opening of the Basque immigration exhibit in Ellis Island, and for the World's fair in China. On top of all her volunteer time in the Basque community, Miren is part of the Boise Greek Dancers even though she does not have Greek heritage.
Boise's Oinkari Basque Dancers are fortunate to have enough talented musicians so that the dancers can perform to live music, Gavica said. One of them is Miren Aizpitarte, 17, who taught herself to play the Alboka, a Basque instrument that dates back to ancient times and resembles a curved clarinet with a cow horn on the end. The sound, similar to bagpipes, comes from circular breathing. Aizpitarte practiced for three months before the breathing clicked. "As you get older, the concentration of Basque people spreads out and people forget," Aizpitarte said. "It doesn't matter how much Basque you are, but how involved you are with it."
We hope that she will stay involved, and that other Basque youth will take this as a positive example. Zorionak--Congratulations! Eutsi Miren!
