Today is the first business day in September, and a special one since for many in Euskal Herria and Europe it marks a return to normality, to school, or work after the summer months and the “summer atmosphere.” For those who read us from the Southern Hemisphere, you are still in winter so this doesn’t apply to you until the end of the year.
I am writing from the EuskalKultura.com offices in Donostia. Yesterday, Sunday, we enjoyed great atmosphere as far as the weather as well as the overall regatta atmosphere, since each first and second Sunday of September the Bay of La Concha becomes incomparable during the traditional trainera races bringing many people, color, much bustle, and a festive atmosphere to the city, especially to the old part.
Today, however, it rained and has cooled off considerably and at 8am the lines of cars and small traffic jams have returned to our daily life, marking the reentry or the beginning of the four moths that remain in this complicated year of 2012.
The month of August didn’t mark any kind of lull in the activities in the Diaspora as it may have for some parts of Euskal Herria. Last weekend the second edition of “Buenos Aires Celebrates” took place, organized by the city of Buenos Aires, dedicated in this case to the Basque Country, after the successful event it was in August of last year. It is an initiative to honor as well as acquaint people who live there to aspects of culture and the reality of the various ethnic, cultural and national groups living in their midst, as reflected in the article that appears in our news section.
But Basque festivals, academic, and popular meetings have continued without interruption throughout the month all over the diaspora. And they continue. Today is a holiday in the US, Labor Day, and as a three-day weekend has been chosen by the Basques of the Chino Basque Club to celebrate its picnic and annual Basque Festival; next weekend, it will be Marin-Sonoma County Basque Club’s turn, North of San Francisco. And following in the US, in the coming weeks and days there will be more, including the celebration in october of Euskal Kantari Eguna (day of Basque song) in Rocklin, California.
The beginning of the Gaztemundu program, tomorrow in Lazkao (Gipuzkoa), organized by the Basque Government in this case for Basque teachers from various countries, marks a point in the Basque agenda that continues without interruption, with events such as the celebration of the Diada at Sydney’s Euskal Etxea, the Heritage Day at the Basque Center of Bordeaux, the Basque Week of Madrid, as well as those, for example, in Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina ...
As part of the chapter of sadder news there is the death this last week in Mexico of Iñaki Ruiz Cuesta, who was the Delegate of Euskadi of Mexico during the Ibarretxe administration (see article). Just a few days before, on August 27, Jorge Gilabert died in Tandil, Argentina, friend, colleague, founder and supporter of the weekly newsletter “Alma Vasca,” to whom we will dedicate a well-deserved obituary tomorrow.
Over the coming days, weeks, and months we will continue to provide information on the new steps we’re taking at EuskalKultura.com. Our commitment to the maintenance of information and informational ties between the Diaspora remain firm and so we will keep going while we can. At the moment we plan to continue to the end of the year, at a good pace.
We’ll see each other tomorrow in the newsletter or on the website
PS: For those who would like a copy of Euskera for Dummies for free, don’t forget that the drawing concludes this Wednesday. If you are a subscriber all you have to do is subscribe a friend, with their permission, at info@euskalkultura.com including the mailing addresses of both of you, so that we know where to send the books. If you are still not subscribed, you can subscribe at the same time. In the same email you can indicate which Basque club, library or Basque teacher you would like to gift a third copy of the book to. We will send it in your name. Remember that the deadline to enter is at midnight,
Continental European time, on Tuesday. Results will be published on Wednesday.
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