This article was translated by John R. Bopp

Journalist Heidi Knapp Rinella at the Las Vegas Review-Journal has just published an article about the Basque presence in the US in the Kansas City Star, writing about the homage to Basque Culture in the US in the 34th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering’s program “Basques and Buckaroos: Herding Cultures of the Basin, Range, and Beyond”, which we’ve already blogged about.  

In it, the author tells a detailed, interesting tales about the presence of Basques in Nevada and the whole of the western US.  She also highlights the huge influence and profound impact the Basques have left (and still have) despite being such a disproportionately small community.  She especially focuses on the Laxalt family; we spoke about Robert Laxalt here on the blog and his article on the Land of the Basques in a 1968 issue of National Geographic.  

His review of the importance of the Basque presence is focused on the period once those territories became American.  But it’s good to remember that the Basque presence in that area dates much further back.  When those territories belonged to the Crown of Castile, the Basque presence and influence was also notable.

It’s interesting to see how this small community is able to attract the attention of the media and get so much great press.

By the way, one of life’s little coincidences, the Kansas City Star was where a great friend of the Basques, Ernest Hemingway, got his start.  

The Kansas City Star -2/2/2018  – USA

Basque culture leaves its mark on Nevada

Their numbers may be small, but Basques and their descendants have left an indelible mark on Nevada — so much so that the theme of the 34th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko is “Basques & Buckaroos: Herding Cultures of Basin, Range and Beyond.” “They really have played a huge role in the American West in ranching culture, in herding culture,” said Meg Glaser, artistic director of the Western Folklife Center, organizer of the six-day annual festival. It’s a natural fit considering many Basques came to the West to work as sheepherders, just as they have for generations in the Basque country in the Pyrenees Mountains of southwestern Europe.

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Las Vegas Review-Journal – 27/1/2018 -USA

Basque culture leaves its mark on Nevada

Their numbers may be small, but Basques and their descendants have left an indelible mark on Nevada — so much so that the theme of the 34th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko is “Basques & Buckaroos: Herding Cultures of Basin, Range and Beyond.”

(Continue) (Automatic translation)

Children at a Basque Festival in Nevada, the Daily Free Press via AP Ross Anderson
Children at a Basque Festival in Nevada, the Daily Free Press via AP Ross Anderson

 

 

Last Updated on Dec 20, 2020 by About Basque Country


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