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Fourth Basque Studies Summer Session Abroad Virginia C. Jacobsen This past summer we held our fourth Basque Studies Summer Session Abroad. Of the thirty-four participants, eleven came from California, seven from Nevada, four from the Spanish Basque country, three each from Arizona and Idaho, two from Iowa, and one each from Illinois, Wisconsin, New Jersey, and West Germany. Most departed with the Basque Studies Program staff (Jon Bilbao, Virginia Jacobsen, and Richard Lane) from Oakland on June 20th and were joined abroad by the remaining students and our European faculty (Juan Oñatibia of the Colegio Americano de San Lorenzo in Oñate, Gipuzkoa; Rudolf de Rijk of the Universiteit van Leiden, the Netherlands; and Pierre Bidart of the Université de Pottiers, France). Five courses were offered: Basque history (Bilbao), elementary Basque (Oñatibia), an introduction to Basque linguistics (De Rijk), a workshop on the Basque folksong (Oñatibia), and Old World Basque culture (Lane and Bidart). Also, as in past years, Professor Oñatibia taught Basque folk dances in the evenings, and Professor Bilbao gave instruction in the Basque card game mus. While first based at Lanagoyen, the comfortable conference facility located above the town of Ustaritz in Lapurdi, the group was able to tour the French Basque provinces. We visited such scenic and/or historically interesting sites as Bayonne, including its well-known Musée Basque; the ruined castle at Bidache; Mauléon, the capital of Zuberoa; St. Jean Pied-de-Port; and the pre-historic caves of Oxolcelhaya near Isturitz. The group also attended the festival of St. Jean-de-Luz and spent the Fourth of July in Biarritz, to which we had been invited for an elegant apéritif at the Hotel du Palais—an affair given by the Franco-American “chamber of commerce” for the area’s American community. As in past years, our group was invited to a reception in its honor at the Ustaritz town hall, a now traditional affair climaxing the fine hospitality extended us during our stay at Landagoyen. Crossing the French-Spanish border on July 6 the group visited Roncesvalles (of Roland fame), the monastery at Leyre, and the castle where St. Francis Xavier was born. Arriving in Pamplona that evening, we stayed at the Colegio Mayor Santa Clara on the campus of the Universidad de Navarra. July 7th was our day at San Fermin, perhaps the most famous festival in the Basque country. We rose early to watch the encierro, the “running of the bulls,” and later that afternoon many of us went to the bullfights. It was along day of celebration and it was not until the wee hours that many found their way back from the private party at the Royal Tennis Club to which we had been invited. We did not know until after we had experienced the only “normal” day of the festival. Violence erupted on the 8th which eventually caused it to be cancelled. But by then we were on our way to Larrea, near Amorebieta in Bizkaya. In transit we toured the beautiful castle of the Navarrese kings in Olite, and in Araba we visited in the castle of Mendoza, saw the prehistoric dolmen at Eguilaz, and walked through the partially excavated site of the Roman town of Iruna. After settling in at the new Casa de Espiritualidad in Larrea, we enjoyed visits to the Biskayan coast, including its beaches, and spent a day in Gernika. There we experienced market day; toured the casa de juntas with the tree of Gernika, revered by all Basques; and watched a jai alai game. Other never to be forgotten sights included the picturesque fishing village of Elanchove and the fine pre-historic paintings in the caves of Santimamine. On July 18th we left for our final base, the Casa de Ejercicios in Loyala, Gipuzkoa. Along the way the group visited Elorrio, a town declared an architectural monument, and the basilica of Aránzazu. We also saw the medieval sarcophagi at Arguiñeta, and what are believed to be the only mummified remains in the Basque country (in the chapel of St. Agustin near Elorrio). In the ancient university town of Oñate, Mrs. Selma Barkham of the Canadian Public Archives took us on a walking tour of the area, and introduced us to the important and extensive archives there. She later lectured on New World finds relating to the Basques. Other lecturers during the session included Professor Roslyn M. Frank of the University of Iowa; clinical psychologist Charlotte Crawford of Bilbao; socio-linguist Xavier Ormazabel of SUNY, Buffalo/Colegio Americano de San Lorenzo; etymologist Miguel Echegaray of Madrid; Luis Michelena of the Universidad de Salamanca; Ramón de la Sota, representing the Basque Nationalist Party; and Paul Etcheberry of Pamplona. Our next excursion was at the invitation of the Real Sociedad Vascongada de los Amigos del Pais. Arranged by its president, Don Juan Ignacio de Uria, the mayor of nearby Azcoitia and recently appointed a senator to the Spanish parliament by the king, the tour included a visit to the seminario of Vergara, the school to which in the past Basques in the Americas regularly sent their sons; an ancient forge near the town of Legazpi; and the headquarters of the Mondragón industrial cooperative. Finally, we gathered at the society’s house in Azcoitia for a special exhibition of the skills of the Basque bertsolari (improvisator or troubadour). The famous bersolaris Lizaso and Lazkano had been engaged for the event. They gave a dazzling display virtuosity, thoroughly enjoyed by all. The next day Javier Bello-Portu, the artistic director of the international music festival in Loyola, performed a program of 19th century Basque organ music for our group in the basilica of Loyola. He then invited us to ascend to the organ loft for a demonstration. It was a magnificant evening! The following Monday, July 31st, we had the rare privilege of experiencing Loyola Day in Loyola. After final exams we went to Vitoria, the capital of Araba, for its fiestas de la Blanca. From there we dispersed, to meet again seventeen days later in Paris on the eve of our return flight to San Francisco. We arrived home late on August 23rd, tired, but full of fine memories of an exciting summer with delightful companions in an unbelievably beautiful country—Euskalerria! |
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