These two artists are more different than alike, but they are extremely excited about working together on a project that debuted with their Bakersfield experience.

Menika has been a social activist for many years. She described her work as sensitizing groups on topics of social justice.

She felt her work was very serious and academic and she became interested in adding a lighter, theatrical aspect to her social activism. It occurred to her that Larrea, an old friend of hers, could help her. When she tracked him down, she noticed that he was using the term “Pin Pang,” as the title of his show, and her program was called “PUN (un mundo mejor es Posible, Urgente y Necesario).” She felt like it was a sign that they were supposed to work together.

Menika said she aims to generate change in society through her work. “We want to create a similar process through our spectacle,” she said, reflecting on her new partnership with Larrea.

“I was interested to see how they bring together their very distinctive perspectives into one united project,” said Steve Gamboa, director of the Institute for Basque Studies at Cal State Bakersfield.

The Frank Bidart Chair program is funded by Etxepare Institute, a public organization in the Basque Country launched in 2010 to promote the Basque language (Euskara) and Basque culture worldwide.

MORE STORIES about the FRANK BIDART CHAIR

Menika, who works for the non-profit group Lantegi Batuak, describes her current work as poetic parallelism. The latest embodiment is a project called “La Miel de la Igualdad” —The Honey of Equality. The work of bees in the beehive is an excellent metaphor for equality, she notes. Through a physical board game she created, she teaches groups and engages them in the concepts of equality and how to apply them to their personal lives.

By working with Larrea and incorporating an artistic context to the social activism, Menika hopes the concepts will be more accessible to different audiences. The duo would like to take the show to factories, prisons and schools.

They presented a skit on campus while they were in Bakersfield. They are not sure yet how they will bring their two different approaches together, but they are aiming to develop a show for 2028.

The chair honors Frank Bidart, the Pulitzer Prize-winning American poet of Basque descent who was born in Bakersfield.

Xabi Larrea up to his circus tricks

Ely is a small town nestled in a high desert valley in the Great Basin that includes eastern Nevada. It has a rich and long Basque history.

During a visit to Ely in 2022, I asked rancher Gracian Uhalde to tell me about the Basques in Ely, Nevada. In answer to my question, he took me to the cemetery.

“Hell, they’re all here,” he said standing in the green grassy Ely Cemetery, shaded with trees, near the town’s main street. “There ain’t no more alive anymore hardly,” he said as he showed me the gravestones of his grandparents, his parents, their siblings and several other Basques he once knew. “I didn’t think about that until you called me.”

Uhalde, sporting a thick, handlebar mustache and decked out in jeans, a plaid shirt and weathered baseball cap, looked like the rancher that he is. He said he was taken aback when I first called him for information about Ely, “because there was always somebody that knew more than I did. Now it’s me. S—–!”

As we walked past rows of burial markers,  he took me to the tombstone of Gratien Uhalde, his namesake, except that it was spelled with a “T.” He was Uhalde’s great uncle. “He died of the Spanish flu” in 1918, said Uhalde. The worldwide flu pandemic that erupted at the end of World War I and killed from 17 to 50 million people, brought a global event to this small town set in the lonesome valleys and mountains of Nevada.

Gratien Uhalde and his brother John, who was Gracian Uhalde’s grandfather, came to the Ely area in the early 1900s to herd sheep and they eventually became sheep and later cattle ranchers. John Uhalde married a woman named Marianna who came from the Basque Country with her twin sister Marie. Marie lived with the couple for a time. Uhalde’s brother Gratien also lived and ranched with his brother and eventually he married Marie. Two brothers married two sisters.

As a result of Gratien’s early death at age 35, his wife, Marie Uhalde married again. She married Bertrand Paris, thus forever intertwining the lives of two prominent Ely ranching families, the Uhaldes and the Parises. University of Nevada Press published a delightful memoir (1967) about Paris that reflects the trials and tribulations of the early life of herding sheep. It’s out of print, but you can still buy it on Amazon.

Today the Uhaldes are raising cattle, having finally sold the last of their sheep a few years ago due to drought and other difficulties. Three of Uhalde’s sons are running the business these days.

Ely History

Despite the harsh winters, Ely was one of Nevada’s biggest towns up through the 1940s. Nevertheless, Ely through the years has been designated one of the most remote county seats in the continental United States

Mining was always the biggest employer in Ely, where many immigrants arrived for the work. Many were employed at the Kennecott Copper Mine in nearby Ruth. However, the Basques who arrived in White Pine County came mostly for sheepherding. The Uhaldes and the Parises were among several ranchers who hired many Basque sheepherders over the years. Basques tended huge flocks of sheep on the Great Basin terrain. During off times and breaks, they stayed in Basque boarding houses in town, most notably the Ely Hotel (, run for many years by John and Marianna Goyenetche.

Several ethnic groups came to Ely for mining work, such as the Greeks, Italians and Serbs. Many of them organized their own ethnic gatherings and the Basques did not want to be left out, according to an interview I had with Marie Ordoqui in the 1990s.

The Annual Ely Picnic

Gallery • 7 Photos

Annual picnic in Ely, Nevada. Courtesy of Anita Anacabe Franzoia

Several of the local Basques attended the state’s first large Basque festival, held in Sparks, Nevada in 1959, and were inspired to hold their own festival. Thus began a tradition that held strong for many years. The Ely picnic was touted as the best Basque festival in Nevada.

It was held the third weekend of July and up to 1,500 people sometimes showed up for the event. On Saturday, there was a parade through town that ended with a showcase of Basque sports like woodchopping, weightlifting, soka tira (tug of war) and folk dancing. An evening dance was held at the local Armory. On Sunday, they gathered in a grove of trees known as Berry Creek Grove, on Uhalde land, outside of Ely, where a Catholic mass and lamb barbecue were held.

The Basques in Ely had formed the Ely Basque Club and the club members worked hard through the year to organize the picnic. Everything in its early days was primitive, including hand turning the lambs over open fires, but that was a great part of the appeal.

Businesswoman Anita Anacabe Franzoia of Elko, Nev. remembers attending the picnic every year when she was young. Eventually, she remembers, motorized rotating spits were developed to roast the lambs. She would sit at the bar with friends “and wait for the leftovers, because that’s where you got the skin and the bones and the good parts of the lamb,” while the nicer cuts were reserved for people in the serving lines.

Franzoia noted that a lot of state officials, including the governor, often attended the picnic, especially if it was an election year.

Eventually, many Basques left White Pine County to find work and the picnic tradition died. The last one was held in 1989.

Read more about the history of Basques in Ely, Nevada in “A Travel Guide to Basque America.”

What to Do and See in Ely Today

Today, Ely is a shadow of what it once was. Although some mining still takes place here, particularly since copper prices rose in 2005, most of the mines have closed. The town has a population of about 4,000. However, it is still a great place to visit, with much of its history reflected in an exceptional mural collection and the local railroad museum and trains.

More U.S. Basque Travel Stories

Highway 50, once dubbed the Loneliest Road in America, has turned in to a tourist attraction. This section of the highway was also part of the historic Lincoln Highway and you can still find a historic marker or two in town. Created in 1913, the Lincoln Highway was America’s first transcontinental road for automobiles, running from New York City to San Francisco.

Many locals who have moved elsewhere for employment come back to Ely on Memorial Day weekend and also for the Fourth of July. For Memorial Day weekend, they place flowers at the local cemetery.

Ely Cemetery
1900 Campton Street, Ely, NV 89301

Railroad

The Nevada Northern Railroad was built to carry the ore from the mines near Ruth, through Ely, to the McGill smelter north of Ely, and on to a junction with the Southern Pacific Railway for access to eastern cities. The railroad also carried workers to the local mines. Today it is preserved as a heritage railway by the Nevada Northern Railway Museum. You can visit the museum, which hosts America’s best-preserved standard-gauge short line and a complete rail facility. Check out their popular Facebook reels about train life.

You can also ride the trains. One popular attraction is the Great Basin Star Train, a stargazing adventure beneath some of the darkest skies in the continental United States.

Nevada Northern Railway Museum
1100 Ave A, Ely, NV 89301

Murals

Ely has about 20 vibrant murals in its downtown and more are likely to be added by the Ely Renaissance Society. The murals reflect the history of the region.

One in particular, on the side of a local car wash (1603 Aultman St.), reflects the Basque sheepherding tradition here. Several Ciscar brothers, from the town of Mungia, Bizkaia, lived in Ely for many years. They were the powerhouses behind the Ely picnic. Javier Ciscar owned several bars in town. Javier Ciscar noted that when the brothers were approached about a sheepherding mural, they offered a photo of their father, Antonio Ciscar, who never actually herded sheep in the U.S., but visited his sons in Ely several times.

Basque artist Anthony Ithurralde painted murals on the windows of the former Ely Hotel. He painted them to look like the indoor space of the restaurant when Basque food was served there. They stood there for many years, but more recently, a couple of the murals have been changed as the Racks restaurant next door has expanded into the space.

Another mural, of a grove of aspen trees. reflects the setting where many herders rested with their flocks. In fact, carvings created by sheepherders on the aspens, are reflected on the trees in the mural. This one is located on a commercial building on Aultman Street, just east of the White Pine Motel.

Visit this website for information on the Mural Walking Tour and an audio guide to the murals.

Restaurants
No Basque restaurants or businesses remain. However, the Ely Hotel and the Club Rio, which served a large Basque clientele over the years, still stand on the 700 block of Aultman Street with their notable signs. The Ely Hotel has been purchased by Racks, the adjacent restaurant, which serves a chorizo burger among other meat and sandwich plates. You can probably get a picon punch at any of the bars in town.

Renaissance Village

Dozens of historic buildings in Ely, ranging from original miners’ cabins to ranch outbuildings, have been acquisitioned and moved to an area on the northwestern slope of town now called Ely Renaissance Village. The cabins are laid out village-style in a historic neighborhood, each representing different ethnicities who came to Ely in search of the American Dream, including Basques, Italians, Chinese, Germans, and Slavic peoples.

The location gives visitors a glimpse into the life of early-1900 Ely, along with what was important to each culture’s home life. You can take a self-guided walking tour through the property, where you will discover artifacts brought over from the Old Country like stunning glass flatware and items like wood-burning stoves, claw-footed bathtubs and wringer washers.

Ely Renaissance Village
448 Ely St, Ely, NV 89301

Pony Express Interpretive Station

If you are driving south from northern Nevada, you will enjoy a stop in Shelbourne, on Hwy 93, about 40 miles north of Ely. A metal sculpture of a Pony Express rider is located at the Schelbourne Rest Area.

“Whatever gets your foot in the Basque door, I want to make sure you have a way to access it,” said NABO’s Euskara co-coordinator Madalen Bieter.

Online classes offered by NABO start their fall semester soon. The deadline to sign up for these classes is Tuesday, Sept. 1. They are offering two different types of beginner classes, for people who have never studied Euskara and for those who may have been exposed to the language via family members who spoke it. There’s also an advanced beginner class and an intermediate class. They need at least eight people for each class and right now, Bieter said they have plenty of room in all the classes. Register for the classes at their website.

NABO also helps Basque clubs in the U.S. offer classes in person. Currently, in-person classes are available at the Basque Museum in Boise, Idaho, at the Txoko Ona center in Homedale, Idaho and through the Basque club in Reno, Nev. The Basque Cultural Center in South San Francisco may be starting in-person classes soon, noted Bieter. And the Basque club in Utah offers conversational sessions twice a month. All the existing classes are listed on the NABO Euskera website, which is kept up to date, said Bieter. Prices vary for each club.

Read More Stories About Learning Euskara

The Basque Museum also offers online classes and registration is taking place for those classes now.

Bieter said that they are always interested in finding Euskara teachers. They have an application online for anyone who might be interested in teaching the language.

To learn more, follow NABO Euskara on Instagram.

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Then, in June, while attending a symposium about Basque immigration to the U.S. in the Basque Country, I was surprised to see him speaking in the Basque language (Euskara) in a video interview. Gamboa, whose father immigrated to the U.S. to herd sheep, told a funny story about how during his childhood, his family sometimes butchered sheep inside his house in Southern California. Even though I am fluent in Euskara, I never knew Gamboa was a Euskara speaker.

Gamboa’s interview was part of a presentation by Laura Igantzi describing the work of Euskal Artzainak Ameriketan (Basque Sheepherders in the Americas), a Basque Country group dedicated to promoting the history of Basques from the province of Nafarroa who went to the U.S. as sheepherders.

This organization is known particularly for organizing trips for former sheepherders back to the U.S., facilitating reunions among family members and friends who may not have seen each other for many years. The organization also has a museum in the town of Elgorriaga, Nafarroa, .

The session presented by Igantzi was part of a ground-breaking two-day symposium at the Iortia Cultural Center in Altsasu, Nafarroa, “Voices of the Diaspora: Basque Emigration to the Americas – Testimonies, Routes and Contexts (19th and 20th Centuries).” The event, held June 19 and 20, is the first such symposium organized by Laia Ikerketa Taldea, a local research group that specializes in the Basque sheepherder immigration from Nafarroa and formed in 2022. (Laia is a manual farming implement known in English as a foot-plough.) The sessions were presented in Euskara and Spanish.

What I found particularly noteworthy about this symposium was having the actual Basque Country as its choice of venue. A number of Basque Studies programs exist in various universities in the U.S., and they have sponsored a great deal of research and conferences about Basque immigration. But a focus on Basque immigration to the U.S. from a Basque Country perspective possibly points to a new trend of research and conferences taking place on the other side of the pond. It was noteworthy that several of the speakers came from the U.S. to make presentation, such as Dr. Xabier Irujo, professor at University of Nevada, Reno and Edurne Arostegui, who has a PHD from University of Nevada, Reno.

Arostegui provided a perspective that is often missing from discussions on the Basque experience in the Americas, in her session on “The Migrant Basque Woman in the American West.”

Much has been written about the lone sheepherders, the cooks, miners and entrepreneurs who happened to be men. Arostegui noted that the women who came were just as important to the story of Basque migration. They ran boarding houses, tended to their families and provided important support to their communities. Some even lived and worked in the sheep camps, doing jobs involving heavy lifting and whatever they needed to eke out a living, often without the recognition or pay afforded to their male counterparts.

Of course, no Basque gathering is complete without some excellent food and music. The first day’s events closed with an accordion recital by well known musician from Altsasu, Enrike Zelaia, which was attended by many locals.

The second day closed with a tribute to Jesús Goñi, who was honored with the recognition befitting someone who worked as a sheepherder, but also is a witness to the emigrant experience, and most exceptionally, performed at U.S. Basque events for many years as a skilled bertsolari. Bertsolaritza is a uniquely Basque art, involving improvisation on the spot according to a predetermined rhythm and melody, and a story line given mere seconds before the performer starts singing.

Goñi, who lived in the Reno, Nev. area for many years, was presented with an award from the Laia group that represented the Hand of Irulegi, a historic artifact recently found in the Iruñea area. Famous young bertsolaris Joanes Illarregi and Sustrai Colina provided some verses in honor of Goñi, who then took the stage with some verses of his own.

Goñi emigrated from Nafarroa as a young man and lived and worked for many years, like many of his compatriots, far from his land of birth, juggling multiple languages in his day-to-day life as a sheepherder, cattle rancher and construction worker. A lot of water has passed under the bridge since his birth in 1947 in Oronoz-Mugairi. He has recently returned to live in the Basque Country.

After that, we headed to the restaurant Kaixo for a bertso-bazkaria, had an amazing meal, and then spent hours listening to the amazing talents of the three bertsolaris. I was amazed at how readily and skillfully Goñi’s verses poured out during our hours-long session.

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Michael McCay, who lived in the Basque Country for many years and speaks Euskera, is a travel agent with Overtrails. He can book accompanied, all-inclusive Basque Country experiences for groups of all sizes from the U.S. As part of a locally based travel company, he can help solo travelers, families and large groups visit the Basque Country with customized itineraries or affordable group programs.

Read more here about Overtrails’ services and itineraries. To contact Michael McCay directly, email him at usa@overtrails.com.

The North American Basque Organizations also held its annual summer convention during the weekend, bringing 37 delegates from Basque clubs all over the U.S.

Ziortza Olano Astigarraga, the new Director of the Basque Community Abroad and Conchi Aranguren, Delegate of the Basque Government to the U.S. and Canada, attended the NABO meeting and spoke with the delegates about the Basque Government’s plans for the U.S. diaspora. They also attended the weekend’s festivities.

Udaleku takes place every year in different Basque communities and the campers, ages 10 to 15, are hosted by local Basque families.

“I’m proud because they are taking care of the Basque culture,” said Mikel Alzate, 13, who came from the Basque Country with his family and attended Udaleku. “I made a lot of new friends,” he said. His mother, Amaia Cordoba, taught Basque language classes to the campers.

Uxue Perez came from the town of Urretxu in Gipuzkoa to teach Basque culture and Ibai Arroitajauregi, of Lurreta, Bizkaia, taught pilota (handball) at the camp. Perez said the experience was amazing. She was so immersed in Basque culture during camp that sometimes she had to remind herself that she was in California, she said with a laugh.

The Southern California Basque Club organized the weekend festivities, which were in celebration of the club’s 80th anniversary. The club is one of the oldest in the U.S.

Friday included handball games with Udaleku campers, a dance performance by the Oinkari dancers from Boise, Idaho, as well as musicians and the local Gauden Bat dancers, plus a dinner for the many guests, all at the Centro Basco restaurant in Chino. Saturday featured a mus tournament and an evening dinner that included the culminating performance for Udaleku’s 64 campers at the Chino Fairgrounds. On Sunday, the club hosted its annual festival, also at the fairgrounds.

“Sunday was the biggest picnic we’ve had in years,” said committee chairman Dominic Etcheberria. He added that the club was very happy with the turnout at the festivities, which included the campers, their parents, the NABO delegates, Boise’s dancers and local Basques.

Read about the history of the Southern California Basque Club.

“Our members are really proud to be part of the oldest club,” said Club vice president Nicole Idiart.

The weekend also marks the ending of Udaleku, the two-week Basque-American summer camp, which was held in Chino, Calif. this year. Basque American youngsters ages 10 – 15 stay with host families and participate in activities that teach them about the Basque culture. The camp is held in different Basque communities every year.

Friday’s festivities include handball games with Udaleku campers, a performance by the local dance group Gauden Bat and the Oinkari Dancers from Boise, plus a buffet dinner and music with a young Basque American band Izen Gabe, all at the Centro Basco restaurant and handball court. Centro Basco is taking reservations for the Friday dinner. See More Schedule Details

Reservations for all events

Centro Basco, 13432 Central Ave., Chino, Calif.

Saturday’s events include a mus tournament and handball games at Centro Basco, while at the Chino Fairgrounds, a sausage contest and a celebratory anniversary dinner will take place. The dinner will include a performance by the Udaleku campers and also a slide show of the club’s activities over the years.

The club will hold its annual festival on Sunday, also at the fairgrounds. A Catholic Mass with Father Antton Egiguren will start the event at 11 a.m. The mass will take place outdoors to easily segue into a performance by young dancers. Gateau Basque and irrintzi contests will also be held. A barbecue lamb and chilindron lunch will be served. The local Gauden Bat dancers, plus the Oinkari dancers will perform in the afternoon.

Lukainka sandwiches will be served in the early evening, and the Basque American band Amerikanuak, featuring Jean Flesher, will take place in evening.

See More Schedule Details

Chino Fairgrounds, 5410 Edison Ave., Chino, Calif.

Handball Games:
All held at Centro Basco

Friday, July 3
3 p.m. Finals of Udaleku campers (4 games)

Saturday, July 4
3 p.m. Naroa Agirre (Professional Women’s Pilota Player) & Eñeko Irazoqui vs. Damian Kelly & Ibai Arroitajauregi

4 p.m. Mike Pereira & Mike Aphessetche vs. Jake Jaureguy & Jesse Kvarna

History of the Club

The Southern California Basque Club was initially named the Southern California Eskualdun Club, a name it kept until 1991.

More Stories about the Southern California Basque Club

It was started in 1948 by Father Charles Espelette, who was originally from the town of Aldude in the French Basque Country. He served at the old Mt. Carmel Church in Montebello. See our article on the Benedictine Friars. In addition to his church duties, he served the large Southern California Basque community that was widely scattered throughout the region on numerous ranches.

The early club picnics were held at Shell Park in the hills above Brea, Calif., a location that was developed and owned by Shell Oil for family picnics. The first picnic in 1947 attracted 730 people. They served a barbecue lamb lunch that cost $1.35.

“We have members who remember when the picnic used to be at Shell Park,” said Idiart.

Later, the picnic moved to the La Puente Handball Club for a few years, but then moved to the Chino Fairgrounds where it has been held for many years.

In the Basque town of Hondarribia, two artists, Idoia Seijo and Jonan Basterretxea, continue a traditional and unique art of making marionettes. They have made dolls for many local people and businesses over the years, but they also cater to a popular tourism business that regularly visits this city’s historic Alde Zaharra (Old Town).

Everything is done by hand and you can frequently see the couple at work in their studio, Menina. They construct the heads and bodies of their dolls with a special paper that is made by very few producers today. Basterretxea will make accessories by hand, while Seijo paints the dolls and makes the costumes by hand. They spend quite a few hours on each puppet.

In an interview with Euskal Kazeta in their studio, Seijo pointed out that their puppets are actual marionettes that can walk and dance and sit. “You may not be interested in having them do that,” she noted about operating the puppets via a controller with strings. “But I want you to know that you bought a marionette.”

Seijo noted that she and her husband like to travel and whenever they go to different places in the world, they always look for other marionette-makers. “But we never find any,” she told Euskal Kazeta in Spanish.

The two started their artistic lives in 1983. Basterretxea is the nephew of well-known Basque sculptor Nestor Basterretxea. Nestor Basterretxea is the author of the Basque Sheepherder sculpture in Reno, Nevada. Their first project was to help his uncle complete some controversial murals for the Basilica of Arantzazu. They started working in Irun, but eventually acquired a studio in nearby Hondarribia, where they began focusing on the marionettes. Since that time, the married couple has been the focus of many articles and videos and they have participated in museum exhibits.

The artists are very traditional, preferring to do their sales in person at their shop or by phone. Most requests are made to order. Their old-school ways mean they don’t spend much time promoting themselves via social media or a website. (You can see some of the dolls on their Instagram account.) But if you find yourself in Hondarribia, be sure to stop by their shop.

Located in the historic old town of Hondarribia (Fuenterrabia) in Euskadi, Spain, their store-workshop Menina is located at Calle Mayor, 30. They can be reached by email tallermenina@yahoo.es  or phone in Spain (34) 605 77 34 87.

See MORE STORIES about TRAVEL in the Basque Country

Basque soccer players are famous for their tough skills, high energy, and team play. Many play for the Basque region’s top local pro team, Athletic Club Bilbao. Several players mentioned below were part of the Spanish team when they won the EUFA Euro 2024 Championship.

Here’s a breakdown on Basques in the World Cup:

FRANCE
French Coach Didier Deschamps
Didier Deschamps represents only the third coach ever to have won a World Cup as a player and as a coach. He led France to the 2018 World Cup title and the 2022 World Cup final, and the team is again a favorite in this year’s tournament.

Deschamps is from the city of Baiona in the French Basque Country. After a short stint in rugby, with Biarritz Olympique, he showed his soccer skills and was quickly recruited into the soccer world in 1983.

He was captain of the French national team when France won its first World Cup in 1998. Deschamps took over as coach of the national team in 2012. In 2018, France won the 2018 World Cup and 2021 Nations League while also reaching the 2016 European Championship, 2022 World Cup final, and the 2024 European Championship semifinals.

Deschamps has announced he will retire after this World Cup.

GHANA
Iñaki Williams
Iñaki Williams, 32, was born in the Basque Country to parents from Ghana who made the grueling crossing of the Sahara Desert on foot. He was born in Bilbao, but grew up in Iruñea-Pamplona.

He has played for Athletic Bilbao his entire career. Williams originally played for the Spanish national team in a friendly match in 2016. However, in 2022, he made the official switch to represent the Ghana national football team. He made his debut for the “Black Stars” at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

The story of Iñaki Williams and his younger brother Nico is one of the most famous sibling rivalries in international soccer. Iñaki chose to play for Ghana, while his younger brother Nico represents Spain. Both players play for Athletic Bilbao, where Iñaki is a captain. See the video.

SPAIN

Spain is among the favorites to win the 2026 World Cup. The team won the World Cup in 2010 and most recently won the EUFA Euro Cup in 2024. The Basque players are all key members of Spain’s team. Several play for Athletic Bilbao, which only allows players of Basque heritage or who are born in the Basque Country. They were initially  headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee for their games in Atlanta.

Coach Luis De La Fuente

Luis de la Fuente comes from the northern part of Spain, from Haro, a small town in the agriculturally rich region of La Rioja right next to the Basque Country. His father was from Bilbao, Bizkaia.

When Luis de la Fuente was 14 years old, he made a major move by traveling to the Basque Country to join the famous Athletic Bilbao youth academy. He eventually became a very reliable professional left-back, playing over 250 matches in the Spanish first division for Athletic Bilbao and Sevilla. After retiring as a player, he spent decades working with Spain’s youth teams, including stints with Portugalete and Athletic Bilbao, before taking over the senior national team job in December 2022.

Aymeric LaPorte
This is Aymeric LaPorte’s second World Cup. LaPorte, 32, was born in Agen, France, which is not part of the Basque Country. However, his great grandparents were Basque and early on, he requested permission to play for Athletic Bilbao.

LaPorte began his career with Athletic in 2010, moved to Manchester City for five years in 2018, then played for the Saudi club Al Nassr for two years. He returned to Athletic in September 2025 where he plays center back. He received Spanish citizenship in 2021 and has played for the Spanish national team for the 2022 World Cup and the Euro 2024, which Spain won.

Mikel Merino
Mikel Merino, 29, currently plays midfield for Arsenal, alongside Mikel Zubimendi. Earlier this year, Merino underwent surgery on a right foot injury sustained in January. He suffered a stress fracture on his foot during Arsenal’s 3-2 league loss against Manchester United on Jan. 25. He appears to be fully mended and was on the field for Spain for its first World Cup game on June 15.

Merino is from Iruñea-Pamplona. He started his soccer career playing on Iruñea’s team Osasuna. Since then, he has moved to Borussia Dortmund, Newcastle United, Real Sociedad (Donostia) and now Arsenal.

Merino’s father, Ángel Miguel, was also a footballer. His career was mostly associated with Osasuna, as both a player and manager. Merino kicked a goal for a win in the 2024 Euro semi-finals in Stuttgart, Germany that mirrored a win his father enjoyed in the very same stadium 33 years earlier. Mikel Merino imitated his father’s 1991 celebration by rounding the corner flag.

Mikel Oyarzabal
Oyarzabal, 29, is the captain of Real Sociedad, Donosti’s soccer team. Unlike their rivals Athletic Club Bilbao, Sociedad doesn’t enforce a ‘Basque only’ rule with regards to who is allowed to play for the club, having let that go in 1989.

Oyarzabal is from the town of Eibar, Gipuzkoa and is committed to his local team, Real Sociedad, where he has spent his entire career so far, apart from a loan to Eibar at youth level.

Unai Simón
Unai Simon is the top goalkeeper for the Spanish national team. Simon is from the capitol of Euskadi, Vitoria-Gasteiz. He has spent his entire club career with Athletic Bilbao.

Simon was starter goalkeeper for the Spanish national team in the 2022 World Cup and the Euro 2024, which Spain won.

He grew up in the town of Murgia, outside of Gasteiz-Vitoria in Alaba. He started in Athletic Bilbao’s youth team. He has worked his way up from the third division to being starting goalie for Athletic’s first division. He was starting goalkeeper for Spain in the UEFA Euro 2020, the 2022 World Cup and continued in that role in the Euro 2024.

Dani Vivian
Daniel Vivian, 26, is considered a tough defender for Athletic Club Bilbao. Vivian, was born in Vitoria-Gasteiz in the province of Alaba.

He has been with Athletic Bilbao his whole career, starting with their youth teams. He began playing for the national team in 2024. He plays center-back. Several clubs have their eye on this standout defender.

Nico Williams
Nico Williams, 23, is the son of Ghana immigrants who grew up in Iruñea-Pamplona. He played for youth clubs in Iruñea until he joined Athletic Bilbao in 2013.

Williams is a fast winger who plays for Athletic Club Bilbao and the Spanish national team. He was a key player in the EUFA Euro 2024, kicking the opening goal against England in the final game.
Williams suffered a hamstring injury last month while playing for Athletic Bilbao against Valencia in La Liga that almost ruled him out for the World Cup. Spain is being cautious and slowly building up his playing time. In addition, he’s been dealing with an abdominal issue for several months.

Martin Zubimendi
A smart midfielder who plays for Arsenal, Martin Zubimendi, 27, will be traveling to his first World Cup as part of Spain’s 26-man roster. He will play a key role in the midfield alongside teammates like Rodri to help control possession for La Roja.
Born in Donosti, Martin Zubimendi played with Real Sociedad since the age of 12. He joined Arsenal last year.

URUGUAY
Giorgian de Arascaeta

At least one member of the Uruguayan team is Basque. Giorgian de Arascaeta, 32, who plays for the Brazilian team Flamengo, has played for Uruguay’s national team since 2014. The attacking midfielder has a nickname of “Arrascaneta” for his “caneta” or nutmeg ability to kick the ball through an opponent’s legs. He is of Basque and Italian descent. Several Uruguayan players in the history of the World Cup have been of Basque blood.
Arascaeta is currently recovering from a muscle injury.

If you know of any Basque players that we missed, feel free to add them in the comments below. And see comments that have already been added.

For owner Dan Ansotegui, the recognition reflects not only his team’s dedication, but also the good hospitality of the Basque community. As he told Euskal Kazeta, the nomination speaks to the heart of the restaurant, a place where customers are meant to feel at home, and where Basque flavors and traditions continue to evolve through family, staff, and community.

For Ansotegui, the recognition came as a surprise. A validation of the values that have shaped his life’s work.

“We’ve been nominated three times before, but those were for different categories; those were for chef,” he said. “So it was kind of nice to go into a new one. I didn’t really understand it when we were first nominated, because in the past we’ve been nominated for the region of the Mountain West, and this is the first time we’ve been nominated under the national category.” Winners will be announced June 15 in Chicago.

More Basque Restaurants in Boise

What stood out most to him was what the nomination said about his team. “I think it just says a lot about the staff we have here and the way that we treat our customers. Hopefully everyone comes in and they’re at home or they’re in a place that they’re very happy to be.”

The honor, he added, extends beyond his own restaurant. “It’s been a really cool thing for the whole community and Basque restaurants in general. When attention is brought to one restaurant, I think it brings a little attention to everyone. It puts us all on people’s to‑do lists. Hopefully it’s something that’s good for the community of Boise and all Basque restaurants throughout the States.”

Ansotegui is no stranger to the James Beard Foundation. His earlier nominations for Best Chef placed him among the top culinary talents in the country. But this year’s honor feels different.

“I think the idea that we were one of, I think, 20 in the nation to start with, and now we’re in the finals, so now we’re one of five throughout the nation; it’s really an incredible honor,” he said. “You always kind of think that it’s a mistake. It’s been really cool, and the amount of people that have noticed, or travelers who look up places to go in Boise… we seem to be rated pretty high, which is a really nice compliment. It’s a great way for us to meet a lot of people we probably wouldn’t have met otherwise.”

Although Ansots Chorizos opened only a few years ago, its roots stretch back through decades of Basque food in Boise; much of it shaped by Ansotegui himself.

“We haven’t been here very long,” he said. “I had other restaurants here in Boise. I had Bar Gernika, I opened that in 1991 and sold that to one of my employees in 2007. Then I opened the Basque Market in 1999 and sold that to friends in 2006.” Bar Gernika and the Basque Market have become cornerstones in Boise’s Basque restaurant scene. Ansotegui’s success in the restaurant business traces back to his grandmother, Epi Inchausti, and her popular boardinghouse in Hailey, Idaho.

After returning to teaching for several years, Ansotegui found himself back in the restaurant world. “I came back from teaching to work for another friend at another Basque restaurant here; a tapas restaurant in town. And then COVID hit and we closed down, and we didn’t want to close. So that’s when we opened here at Ansots.”

Opening during the pandemic came with challenges. “We signed our lease in May of 2020, and the city wouldn’t let us open. I think we finally got permission in September,” he said. “So during that time we were working on the menu, trying to make sure we were doing things that other Basque restaurants in the area weren’t doing.”

MORE STORIES about Dan Ansotegui

Boise is home to six Basque restaurants, and Ansotegui wanted Ansots to contribute something distinct. “We wanted to make sure there’s enough variety in Basque cooking that we touched on some things that maybe weren’t being done everywhere. Making our own chorizos – we are the only people around here that do that.”

Their menu also leans heavily on traditional sauces. “We do a lot with sauces, whether it’s the salsa biscayne, or the salsa verde, or the koxkera. Those are things that we use a lot, and I don’t think that’s used in a lot of the places here in Boise.”

Ansotegui’s influence on Boise’s Basque food scene spans more than three decades, but he resists the idea of holding a role in preserving Basque culture.

“I don’t really think of it as a role, I just do it because I enjoy doing it,” he said. “As a teacher, I enjoy spreading the word, teaching other people about things, whether it was 4th‑grade math or how to make clams in salsa verde. My daughter and my wife take that as our role too, to teach people who want to learn about Basque cooking.”

Ansots is a family business. His daughter Ellie works alongside him daily, and his wife Tamara contributes ideas and feedback when helping during the catering events.

“It’s great being able to come in every day; my daughter’s here, and my wife has a lot of input,” he said. “It’s always good to bounce ideas off people you trust and love. What we do here isn’t just coming from one mind. We have input from everyone.”

Gallery • 6 Photos

Kroketas at Ansots Chorizos

That includes their staff. “Definitely, especially for the front of the house. They make people feel welcome, and we are greatly indebted to everything that they do.”Ansotegui has watched Boise’s Basque food scene evolve over decades, shaped by unique local history.

“Boise is an interesting spot,” he explained. “The boarding houses here were much older than in other places. When the owners were in their 60s and 70s in the 1970s, fewer and fewer sheepherders were coming over, so the boarding houses were starting to die out. We never got any boarding houses in Boise to switch over to public restaurants, so Basque food here didn’t develop in the same way as in Nevada or California.”

Instead, Boise’s Basque restaurants emerged later, and differently. “Basque food here is definitely on a different trajectory,” he said. “We’re lucky. Boise is a small enough community, and there was a time when Boise’s population was about 10% Basque, which is a large amount for an immigrant population.”

Today, Ansots stands as part of that evolving story, and now, as a James Beard finalist, it brings national attention to a unique ethnic community that has been shaping Boise for more than a century.

Ansots Basque Chorizos
560 W. Main St.
Boise, Idaho
(208) 336-9166

Ansots is featured in our video on the Basque Block

“We were trying for a sense of community, of sitting down and coming together at a boarding-house table,” said Edurne Arostegui, the club’s vice president, as she presided over the kitchen. The large dining hall in the Wallingford Community Senior Center had been arranged and decorated to reinforce that image.

The Seattle Basque club has waxed and waned over the years, but more recently, a dedicated group has provided a hub for the local Basque diaspora. They organize annual spring and summer picnics, often held at Lake Sammamish State Park, and provide community updates through their Facebook page and Instagram account.

During the dinner, members and their guests sat at two rows of long banquet tables while board members and volunteers served food family-style. The menu was deliciously simple and traditional: cream of zucchini soup, cod-stuffed piquillo peppers, salad, roasted tri-tip and potatoes, cheese, and a choice of Basque burnt cheesecake or Gateau Basque for dessert. All washed down with red wine. For many, the evening brought back memories of family gatherings past and a warm sense of community — familia — that is so uniquely Basque.

After dinner, people with long strings of raffle tickets waited, hoping to win the beautiful earthenware mugs and dishes created by club director Michelle Errecart. While the raffle took place at one end of the hall, the tables and chairs at the other end were whisked away to make room for music and dancing.

Club president Jean Escoz introduced his long-time friend and accordionist, David Romtvedt, an award-winning poet, writer, and musician from Buffalo, Wyoming. Escoz, himself a Basque dancer of some note, and Romtvedt then opened the dancing with an impressive and delightful dance demonstration.

The winners of the mus tournament were Jose Luis Mallea and Gaizka Mallea in first place, and Joe Guerricabeitia and Craig Fellom in second place. They will represent the Seattle club at the national North American Basque Organizations mus tournament finals in South San Francisco  June 20.

History of Basques in Washington

Back in the early 1900s, the area around the small town of Yakima in eastern Washington had the only Basque community of note in the state. Washington did not have large expanses of public domain land where sheep ranchers could graze sheep, as they did in other western states. As a result, few Basques came to Washington to work as sheepherders.

Because of Pacific Northwest’s abundant rain, much of the state’s western land was claimed for agriculture early on. Sheep tended to be farm flocks adjacent to farms, according to HistoryLink.org. On the drier eastern side of the state, the Columbia River Basin Project, created by the Grand Coulee Dam, provided irrigation water for farming.

Some Basques ran sheep through the Columbia River basin, summering near Mt. Rainier or Mt. Adams or other peaks in the Cascade Range. Two brothers, Sebastian and Juan Miguel Etulain, were well known sheep ranchers here. The historic El Hotel Bascongado in Yakima housed many of the young Basque men who came to herd sheep for them over the years. Read about Sebastian Etulain’s son Richard’s childhood growing up on the family sheep ranch. Nephew Miguel Etulain, who worked for many years on a cattle ranch here, had an interesting family story in the Basque Country before he even arrived in the U.S.

Basque Students Experience Yakima

See Richard Etulain’s book Boyhood Among the Woolies” on Amazon.

Read more about the history of Basques in the United States in Nancy Zubiri’s book “Travel Guide to Basque America.”