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In the middle of the hot California summer, every first Sunday of July, the Southern California Basque Club (SCBA) celebrates its annual Basque picnic.  This year Chino is also the site for NABO’s Udaleku, as usually every eight years, and so the picnic landed in the middle of the two-week camp allowing participants to share what they had learned to that point.  And that is what happened on Saturday and Sunday with 100 kids from NABO’s summer camp participating in the SCBC picnic. 

Chino, CA USA.  The SCBC picnic took place as always at the Chino fairground in the outskirts of Los Angeles.  This year the club celebrated the 71st anniversary of the event, with the program announcing a demonstration by Udaleku kids on Saturday night as well as on Sunday.

On Saturday afternoon, the crowds started gathering around 5:30pm.  After dinner the Udaleku kids started performing on the txistu, dancing, and singing, a teaser for next Friday’s final performance that will conclude Udaleku 2017.

The public applauded each song, dance and piece of music and witnessed the great work being done by all of the instructors, from here and from the Basque Country, and, of course, by all the kids. Udaleku enjoys a wonderful response every year with hundreds of children between the ages of 10-15 from various Basque clubs all over the country.

Along with traditional dances, the Udaleku participants also had fun with dances like this one “Euskaraz bizi nahi dut” (I want to live in Basque) by Esne Beltza (images EuskalKultura.com)

The Chino Klika led the mass procession on Sunday followed by the hundred Udaleku campers.  Closing the procession was Aita Javier Altuna from Azpeitia (image EuskalKultura.com)

The excellent results were not only evident in the campers’ performances, but also as they danced later at the dances on both Saturday and Sunday nights where they danced of their own volition doing fandangos, arin-arins, or jauziak.  It was clear on everybody’s faces that they were having fun practicing what they had learned at Udaleku.

Sunday began with mass celebrated by Aita Jaiver Altuna, from Azpeitia, who has lived longer outside of the Basque Country than in his hometown.  He celebrated mass in Basque with a touch of Spanish and French.  Mass also included the contribution of the local klika, dantzaris and singers from Udaleku who both processed and recessed to the sounds of the klika before and after mass.

At noon on Sunday there as a BBQ lunch featuring beef, followed by a lamb dinner.  Again there were performances by the dantzaris from the Chino Basque Club as well as the Udaleku participants.

The weekend concluded with a last dance to the traditional Basque-American music provided by “Amerikanuak” aka the Jean Flesher Band, with Michelle Iturriria on the trumpet and vocals; Jean-Pierre Etchechury on the drums; and Jean Flesher himself on the accordion and vocals.  A great way to end the weekend.