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Basque Studies Program Newsletter · Issue
60, 1999
Renoko Aste Nagusia
Basque Cultural Week and NABO Convention
by Kate Camino, President, Reno Zazpiak Bat Basque
Club
1999 marked a number of important dates for the Reno
Zazpiak Bat Basque Club. Not only was it the year that we
would host the annual NABO (North American Basque
Organization) convention but it also marked the fortieth
anniversary of the first “Western Basque Festival”
that was held at the Dick Graves Nugget in 1959, as well as
the tenth anniversary of Reno’s longest Sister City
relationship, that with San Sebastián/Donostia. Along
with these important milestones it also happened to coincide
with William A. Douglass’s retirement from the Basque
Studies Program and also may have been the last year that
the Diocese of Bayonne would send a Basque priest to the
States. Is it possible for one festival to pay due tribute
to so many individuals and occasions? It was a wager that
most gamblers probably wouldn’t have made, but being
from Reno we took the risk.
When setting out to organize this year’s
festival we tackled it one step at a time. First and
foremost in our minds was the tremendous accomplishment of
those individuals who organized the 1959 festival. Many may
not be aware of the impact that it had on later festivals in
Basque America. Prior to 1959, Basques held picnics mainly
attended by local Basques. After the 1959 festival, which
incorporated dancers, musicians, and sportsmen from all over
the U.S., a new sense of cooperation took over and many
began to invite “outsiders” to their festivals.
This really served as the precursor to NABO, the official
venue for representatives from the various clubs to get
together and share ideas in order to preserve the Basque
culture in the U.S. The 1959 festival would serve as a model
for numerous festivals to follow.
The goal of the 1959 festival was, and I quote,
“... not only a chance for Basques, their families, and
friends to see each other again or meet for the first time,
but also a tribute to our people, about whom so little is
known in this country” (taken from a letter written by
Peter Echeverria in March of 1959). The goal of Aste Nagusia
was similar, but our hopes were to educate the Basques as
well as non-Basques about what the Basque Country is
today.
In an effort to update Basques and non-Basques alike,
we considered a number of activities to comprise an entire
Basque culture week that would precede the usual NABO
convention weekend. Taking advantage of Reno’s unique
situation, we devoted the entire first day of our cultural
week to the Basque Studies Program and the University
Studies Abroad Consortium. It was full of informational
talks and tours of the Basque Studies Library, as well as
the entire University of Nevada, Reno
campus.
Tuesday was dedicated to Basque cinema. Annabel
Martin, a Basque cinema expert from Emory University in
Atlanta, gave a revealing talk on Basque stereotypes found
in cinema today. It was followed by a showing of Montxo
Armandariz’s Secretos del Corazón, a film
that was nominated for best foreign film at the 1998 Oscar
awards.
Wednesday was dedicated to the Basque woman. The
Consortium for the Study of Basque Women sponsored a variety
of talks and workshops ranging from how to start your own
genealogy to a sample of the music performed by the Basque
female singing group NOKA, featuring Begoña
Echeverria and Cathy Petrissans.
Thursday was dedicated to the bertsolari.
Linda White gave an introductory talk on the art of
bertsolaritza (or Basque versifying) for the
non-Basque speaker. Nearly 150 gathered for a Bertso
Afaria (bertso dinner) where the seven bertsolaris
present serenaded all. The bertsolaris that participated
included, from the U.S., Jesus Arriada and Johnny Curutchet
from San Francisco, Martin Goikoetxea from Rock Springs,
Wyoming, and Reno’s own Jesus Goñi. From the
Basque Country we had Estitxu Arozena and Oihane Enbeita.
Ziharra Enbeita, also from the Basque Country, helped
moderate the evening along with Jose Mallea. This was the
biggest Bertso Afaria held in the U.S. to date. We were also
pleasantly surprised by the appearance of Xabier Euskitze, a
famous bertsolari and television personality from the Basque
Country who then participated in the rest of the
weekend’s events as well.
Friday marked the kick-off of the festival weekend.
We gathered at the Pioneer Theater to honor all those
responsible for the 1959 festival: John Ascuaga, Peter
Echeverria, Martin Esain, Dominic Gascué, Dick and
Flora Graves, John Laxalt, Robert Laxalt, Joe Micheo, Paul
Parraguirre, and Pete Supera. We also honored William A.
Douglass on his retirement from thirty-two years of service
at the Basque Studies Program, as well as the Basque
missionary priests for their years of devotion to the Basque
community in the U.S. Those priests attending included Fr.
Patxi Aldasoro, Fr. Jean Pierre Etcheverry, and Fr. Marcel
Tillous.
The festival itself was held at Wingfield Park in
downtown Reno. Saturday started off with a parade down
Virginia Street or Donostia Kalea, as the street had been
renamed by Mayor Jeff Griffin at a ceremony the preceding
Wednesday. The street renaming was in honor of Reno’s
Sister City relationship with San Sebastián/Donostia,
Spain. The Grand Marshals of the parade included members of
the original organizing committee of the 1959 festival along
with a number of their family members. With ten different
dance groups attending from the U.S., the parade was a very
lively one. The ambience was intensified by the presence of
the San Francisco Klika and Kuxkuxtu Txaranga, a seven-piece
popular band from Iparralde in the Basque Country. The
parade led to Wingfield Park where all were treated to
Basque dancing, singing, sports, and
food.
In an effort to offer some less traditional events at
our festival, the Basque club invited Donosti Ereski, a
Basque folk group comprised of 36 singers, dancers, and
musicians from Donostia. Along with providing an array of
entertainment, they also served as the headline act for
Reno’s Uptown, Downtown, ARTown festival that weekend.
The txaranga was also part of the effort to expose
Basque-Americans to entertainment that is not typically a
part of Basque festivals in the U.S. Lastly we had the honor
of two of the best bertsolaris from the Basque Country today
in Oihane Enbeita from Bizkaia and Estitxu Arozena from
Nafarroa. Not only have they both reigned as champions but
also it was the first time that our local bertsolaris had
the occasion to compete against women. The traditional wood
chopping was also accompanied by a not-so-traditional
weight-carrying competition. Instead of all competitors
carrying the same weight the challenge was for each to carry
the equivalent of his/her own body weight. The person that
lasted for the longest distance won.
Obviously all this effort was the culmination of a
number of individuals’ hard work and commitment. First
of all our Basque Country liaison, Joseba Etxarri, must be
commended for his endless dedication to this project. Thanks
to his representation of our club abroad we were successful
in involving all regions of the Basque Country in our
festival. Besides the very generous support that we received
from Eusko Jaurlartiza, we also received help from the Foru
Aldundiak (Provincial Deputations) of Araba, Bizkaia and
Gipuzkoa, and also from the Government of Navarre, as well
as Eusko Kultur Erakundea in Iparralde. On this side of the
Atlantic we received generous support from the Nevada Arts
Council and from the City of Reno’s City 2000 grant
project.
The overall response from the Basque Country was
truly overwhelming. Not only did a number of private
individuals make the long journey just for the festival, but
we were also honored with the presence of President Juan
Mari Atutxa, President of the Basque Parliament. He was
accompanied by Ana Ansa, cabinet member, as well as Benan
Oregi from the Department of External Relations with the
Basque Diaspora and Koldo Ordozgoiti from the Ministry of
Culture. The distinguished group made a special visit to the
Basque Studies Program where they presented William Douglass
with a statue in appreciation of his contributions to the
Basque cause. The Basque Studies Library was also enhanced
by a very generous donation of numerous books published by
the Basque Paliament by President Atutxa, along with his
assurance of continued relations between the BSP and the
Basque Parliament. The dignitaries also met with the
Governor of Nevada, Kenny Guinn, whose Chief of Staff, Pete
Ernaut, is of Basque descent. We were also honored by the
presence of Enrike Knörr from Euskaltzaindia or the
Basque Language Academy. Euskaltzaindia was represented at
the 1959 festival, and so it was appropriate to have their
participation this year as well.
The Basque press was tremendously enthusiastic about
our festival. Egunkaria, the only daily newspaper
printed entirely in Basque, dedicated two full pages a
day-from July 18 to July 25-to the festival and cultural
week. Two reporters from Gara transmitted articles
daily to be published in the Basque Country.
Egunkaria as well as Durangoko Azoka, the largest
Basque book and music fair in the Basque Country, chose our
festival to unveil their web pages. And Euskal Telebista
produced a one-hour special about the
festival.
The response from around the U.S. was just as
impressive. We had the participation of ten dance groups
from various clubs, as well as the San Francisco Klika. The
attendance of ten dance groups at a NABO event is
unprecedented. All in all, five to six thousand people took
part in the festivities over the
weekend.
As with the first “Western Basque
Festival,” this year’s Renoko Aste Nagusia took a
step towards a new concept in Basque festivals. Whether or
not it will serve as a model for others is yet to be seen.
Regardless, I think it is safe to say that it was a step in
the right direction and that we won the
wager.
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