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Basque Monument Dedicated On Sunday, August 27, a striking bronze monument representing the Basque sheepherder was dedicated in a ceremony at Rancho San Rafael in Reno. The sculptor, Nestor Basterretxea, stated through an interpreter that his unique impression of a man carrying a lamb beneath the desert moon was an expression of the strength, loneliness, and solitude of the countless Basque pioneers who chose this hard beginning for their life in the New World. Over fifty dignitaries from the Basque Country attended the ceremonies and many took the platform to express their pride in contributing to the monument project and laud the American Basques who inspired the sculpture. Preston Hale, co-chair of the Monument Committee, presided and introduced the speakers, including U.S. Senator Richard Bryan, Nevada Governor Bob Miller, Idaho Secretary of State Pete Cenarrusa, William A. Douglass, Coordinator of the Basque Studies Program, and Robert Laxalt, the distinguished Nevada author and founder of the University of Nevada Press. Among the Basque dignitaries who spoke at the ceremony were Nekane Oyarbide, organizer of the Basque tour; Michael Inchauspe, senator from the Department of the Atlantic Pyrenees, France; Iñaki Olaizola, president of the Chamber of Commerce of Guipúzcoa; Mr. Jacqué, president of the Chamber of Commerce of Bayonne; José Ramón Peciña, minister of culture from Alava; Tomás Uribetxeberria, minister of culture from Vizcaya; Román Felones, minister of culture from Navarra; Imanol Murua, governor of Guipúzcoa; and Josu Legarreta, delegate of the Basque government. José Ramón Cengotitabengoa, president of the Society of Basque Studies in America and one of the originators of the project, officially turned the statue over to Diane Cornwall, Chairwoman of the Washoe County Commissioners, and Reno's Acting Mayor Kathryn Wishart. Carmelo Urza and Janet Inda served as translators for many of the speakers. Basque txistulariak Txomin Agirregomezkorta, Amaia Iza, and María José Gaztelumendi played during the ceremonies and Iñaki Arregi danced. Father Jean-Pierre Etcheverry blessed the monument. The ceremony was well attended, and approximately 2,400 people shared Rioja wine and cheese donated by the province of Alava and the Consejo Regulador Denominación de Origen Queso de Idiazabal from the Basque Country. Also on view at the site were several examples of Basque tree carvings. The trees were dying in the forest and permission was obtained from the U.S. Forest Service to fell and preserve some of those bearing the artistic carvings of Basque sheepherders. |
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