Buenos Aires, Argentina. The Basque Legacy. Surnames and Testimonies of the life in Brandsen gathers interviews done by Cristina Juliarena with 21 families of Basque origin in the area of Brandsen, located near La Plata, and “part of a big dairy basin characterized by the excellence of its dairy farms, many of which included Basques immigrants among their workers.” In its 270 pages, the author reflects and talks about the arrival of Basque immigrants beginning in the 1600s. She especially treats those that went to Virreinato del Rio de La Plata; the difficulty they had to adapt in the Spanish-speaking context; and how the lack of knowledge of the Basque language in the Southern Cone affected the erroneous transcription of many Basque surnames.
The Basque Legacy was presented at the end of 2018 in Brandsen and is now at the International Book Fair in Buenos Aires where the author will autograph copies tomorrow, May 10th, and will talk about her work. The event is at 7pm at the Dunken Publishing stand in the Green Pavilion.
Cristina Juliarena received her degree in Geography from the College of Philosophy and Letters (UBA). In regards to her research in the community, she has worked on topics such as Basque toponymy in Patagonia, La Pampa, Santa Fe and in the city of Buenos Aires at the Laurak Bat Center (CABA) among others.