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Annie Gavica was born in Paradise Valley, Nevada but she currently lives in Boise.  Dantzari, she plays txalaparta, and pandero, and has been to the Basque Country six times.  She is specislist of educational programs at the Boise Basque Museum, in this a Jaialdi year. 

Joseba Etxarri, Boise, ID.   Her great-grandparents came from both sides of the Pyrenees, from Urepele, in Behe Nafarroa and the area of Ispazter and Berriatua, in Bizkaia.  They came to Northern Nevada, to places like McDermitt, Golconda and Paradise Valley, where Annie and her younger sister Alaina were born.  In a family with more than a century in America, her parents were the ones to delve themselves into all that is Basque and the desire and practice of living their Basque heritage intensely, updating it with a sense and a future in their life in America.  The Gavica sisters, today 30 and 28 years old, have grown up in a Basque atmosphere in the festivals in the West and Annie is in fact, for the last year and a half, in charge of the educational programs at the Basque Museum and Cultural Center in Boise, after having studying Spanish Literature in Boise and being one of the first graduates to attain a Basque Minor at BSU (Boise State University).

-Your family, on both sides, came to the US at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th.  Now, more than a century later, here you are in the heart of the Basque activity in Boise, working at the Basque Museum.

The truth is that it is an honor for me.  I realize how lucky I am.  I love Basque.  My sister and I have always been involved in Basque activities, first in Nevada, and now in Idaho.  In Boise, for example, we have been members of Euzkaldunak, the Boise Basque club; Txantxangorriak, the txalaparta and Trikitixa School; the Boiseko Gazteak dancers, and the Oinkaris.  As children, our parents had us dancing with the Winnemucca, Nevada group, even though they hadn’t been exposed to any of that growing up; their parents never taught them.  They knew that they were Basque, but that was it.  It’s interesting because even though it scpaed one or two generations, Basque is stronger than ever in our family today.

-You went to university in Boise

Yes, my sister is currently a math teacher In Kuna, near Boise, and I graduated in Spanish Literature from BSU with a minor in Basque Studies.

-What was the Basque Studies Minor like?

Extraordinary.  When i enrolled at BSU the Basque Studies Minor was just beginning, so we were kind of the guinea pigs, trying all the different classes  I remember that we were taught by Dan Ansotegui, Jo Aldape, Lisa Corcostegui…Nere Lete taught us Basque…It’s great to see how it has grown and developed.  I graduated in 2008.

-You have been working at the Boise Basque Museum and Cultural Center for a year and a half now.

I started in August-September of 2013 and I haven’t stopped since.  We have daily tours of visitors of all ages, especially school children.  We teach workshops and classes in Basque, music, life style, we talk about topics that are part of the culture in the Basque Country and the US, including immigration, the sheep industry and the hotel network and lodging where Basque herders were welcomed throughout the West.  The Boiseko Ikastola is also part of the Museum.  So I am involved in different programs, also fundraisers, a lot of different activities. I think it was my very first day, our director, Patty Miller, said that she had worked for more than twenty years here and she never had a boring day; one and a half year latter I agree with her, not a boring day, there is always something to do.

-What exactly is your job?

I am in charge of educational programs.  I organize classes and tours, I travel to different school, or I take care of them when they visit us.  You should keep in mind that during a normal year, between 15,000 and 20,000 people pass through our doors and our activities, and this year, being Jaialdi, we expect many more.  For example in the city of Boise, third grade students have an assignment in local history, so that we welcome their visits, or we do presentations for them.  At the state level, the same goes for fourth graders.  We teach them about migration and also about Basques and their culture, and their involvement in their US environment.  Today, for example, we have a group of music students and we talked to them about the various aspects of Basque music, instruments etc.

This is a Jaialdi year…

Yes, it’s right around the corner.  It will take place the last week of July and August 1-2nd.  The Jaialdi Committee has been preparing this for years and it promises to be a huge success, with thousands of people, Basques and friends of Basques, coming from all over the country, Europe, and the Diaspora.  It promises to be a unique event, a great time, and a very memorable celebration not to miss.

-Boise Basque Museum: http://basquemuseum.com
-Boise Jaialdi 2015: http://www.jaialdi.com
-Boiseko Ikastola: http://www.boisekoikastola.org
-Boiseko Oinkari dantzariak: http://www.oinkari.org
-BSU Basque Studies: http://sspa.boisestate.edu/basquestudies
-BSU Basque Studies Minor: http://sspa.boisestate.edu/basquestudies/ikasle-student-resources/minor