euskalkultura.eus

Having some ‘picons’ with their family and friends in the backyard, that’s how the Santa Rosa Basque Club (NV) was created in 2004 in Paradise Valley, Nevada. Susan and Richard Gavica were there and he was chosen to be the president. This Saturday, September 6th, they will celebrate their fourth annual picnic, with that special joy that is felt at anniversaries.

Ander Egiluz Beramendi/USA. The couple shared some of their memories of the last ten years and, also, how they see their future with Euskalkultura.com.

-Next Saturday you are going to celebrate the fourth Santa Rosa picnic but also the tenth anniversary of your Basque Club. Congratulations! What comes to your minds when you think about it?

Susan – Thank you very much! We feel proud and happy. I don’t think I have ever laughed as much in my life as I have  at some of our gatherings, sharing stories and anecdotes, seeing people we haven’t seen in a while... It is always so much fun.

Richard – Thank you very much.

-How did all start?

Richard – Ten years ago, we were sitting in the backyard having a few picons with some family from California and we just came up with the idea (he laughs). They told us it would be great and we just did it.

-What was your first event?

Susan – We organized a wine tasting event that was very successful. My nephew has an importing company in Boise (ID) and he brought us wines and food from the Basque Country. Many people had never tried those wines before and they loved them. We had pretty authentic Basque food, wines, and music. It was the first time we had such a big event around Winnemucca (NV) and people really enjoyed it.

Richard – People liked the Basque way of life (he laughs). It was different for many people and they kept on saying “You, vascos, know how to put on a party!”

Susan – We were surprised with the success, people talked about it forever, it was so much fun. But in later years fewer people started coming so we decided to organize the festival.

-Why do you think people stopped attending the wine tastings?

Susan – What happened was that the venue was too expensive to rent. Also, a lot of people had to come from of town and it was too much work. And there were also other wine tastings in the area…

Richard – So we thought of going back to the old style celebrations.

-Is there any other event you organize through the year?

Susan – Yes, we organize a couple of dinners and also a mus tournament that this year we celebrated in March. For the mus we get together at a Bed and Breakfast called Stone House and then we have a dinner at the Community Hall. It’s not just for the players it’s open to anybody from the town that wants to join us. This year we had 80 people at the dinner, it was a beautiful one. We had cod, paella, solomo, rice pudding... Everything cooked by the members.

-Do you have good cooks in the club?

Susan – We actually do have a couple of people that are pretty good: Vicky Gaviola and Edu Sarria. We have organized cooking classes several times and they’ve been helping us. They are pretty interesting classes and we’re trying to organize more. People like them.

-And what about the other events you organize?

Susan – We gather at the Community Hall and they’re more like potlucks. Everybody brings something but the club is in charge of the main course. And then we also have a Christmas party, on the first Saturday of December.

-Does ‘Olentzero’ (the Basque Santa) arrive to the club?

Susan – He has not yet… I would really love that and we’ve talked about it, it would be nice to have a more authentic celebration, you know? I think it would be interesting for Basques and non-Basques too. It might happen this year…

-What’s the situation of Euskara among you? Do you have Basques speakers? Does the club organize language classes?

Susan – There are several people that speak Basque but, so far, we have not been able to organize any classes. People are busy. I know that if my daughters, for example, lived closer they’d loved to teach it. But the problem is that we are in the middle of nowhere (she laughs).

-What is the most complicated part of starting up a Basque Club today?

Susan – I would say all the paperwork and bureaucracy. We belong to NABO, so registering with the Basque Government was not complicated but it was the least fun.

-Is it a challenge to attract people and new members?

Susan – We don’t really do anything special to attract people, it happens naturally. When we organize something and people in town see what we do and that we have fun they just join us.

Richard – People like the Mus tournament too, they come from other areas like Homedale (ID) and Boise.

Susan – Actually, some of the new members joined us for the Mus tournament, so they’re not really active.

-How many members does the club have?

Susan – We have around one hundred.

-Are there enough kids and youngsters around to, eventually, take over?

Susan – There are a few, but not a lot. Most of our members are baby boomers (she laughs), from the 40s, 50s, and 60s. We have a few kids, but I don’t know if they’ll continue with this. But, who knows, if they see that we have fun it might happen. Let’s be positive!