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Basque Studies Program Newsletter · Issue
60, 1999
A Day for Basque
Women
The Consortium for the Study of Basque Women (CSBW)
sponsored a day dedicated to topics of interest to
Basque-American women on July 21, 1999, as part of the
“Renoko Aste Nagusia” or Basque Culture Week in
Reno.
Marcelino Ugalde spoke about the ins and outs of
Basque last names. Surnames play a big part in one’s
identity, especially for the Basques. Although there is
little evidence, as is usually the case when studying Basque
history, surnames in Basque culture seem to have evolved
with the establishment of the Basque home, the
baserri. Many aspects of one’s social identity
were derived from the baserri, even one’s
surname.
Jill Dyches gave a workshop on “Genealogy: How
to Get Started.” Many American Basques call us for
information on tracing their ancestors. Thirty people got
hands-on instruction about how to get started, handy tips on
what sorts of questions to ask, who to call for help, where
to look for birth certificates, what to do with old family
letters, and how to keep track of every new discovery. Mrs.
Dyches also provided each attendee with a collection of
sample forms and documents to use in the hunt for their
ancestors.
Dr. Jeronima Echeverria, Assistant Dean of the
College of Social Sciences at CSU Fresno, gave a talk about
Basque women as hotelkeepers, the famous hoteleras of
the American West. She described the hotelera’s daily
schedule and enumerated the services performed by this
central figure of early Basque-American communities, who
served as interpreter, counselor, midwife, and even a second
mother for young immigrants far from home. Dr.
Echeverria’s findings are available in her recent book,
Home Away From Home, available from the University of
Nevada Press.
The afternoon closed on a musical note with two
members of the Basque-American singing group Noka,
Begoña Echeverria and Cathy Petrissans, who stunned
the audience with the beauty of their voices and their
facility in Euskara. The third group member, Andra
Miren Bidart, was unable to attend. All three are natives of
Chino, CA. The group chose the word noka for the name of
their group because it refers to the familiar form of
address used between Basque-speaking women-all of
Noka’s songs are about Basque women. Echeverria and
Petrissans also provided handouts about the familiar form of
address in Basque-the only place in Basque grammar where
gender plays a role.
The group has produced a high-quality CD. Other
musicians whose talents contribute to the recording are:
Martie Echito (guitar, keyboard, percussion, piano and
bass), John Ehlis (mandolin), Regina Flores (flute),
Rosemarie Iturburua (accordion), and Darrin
Schuck(guitar)
The CD is available for $18 ($15 plus $3 for shipping
costs) from:
NOKA
12204 Cottonwood Avenue
Chino CA 91710
or call (909) 465-6200. They also have a web page at:
www.gaudenbat.com/noka and an e-mail address:
NOKA123@aol.com. Make checks out to
NOKA.
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