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Eighty descendants of Francisco Eguiazu Ibarzabal from Bergara, Gipuzkoa gathered last weekend in Victoria, Argentine province of Entre Rios for their first family reunion. Great-grandson Sergio Eguiazu led the organization in a very Basque event that included sharing photos and anecdotes, discovering new cousins as well as completing the family tree.  Doves were released to remember family members who have already passed away. 

Victoria, Argentina.   Even if the event took place on Sunday the 15th, the first Eguiazu began arriving the night before.  There they were welcomed by reunion organizers and visited the parish of Our Lady of Arantzazu, the Basque icon in the city of Victoria, a city as many in Argentina with a rich Basque history and heritage.

On Sunday, the reunion took place at the El Horizonte farm, where 80 descendants of Francisco Eguiazu coming from Resistencia, Dolores, Buenos Aires, Rafaela, Villa Constitución, Rosario and Santa Fe spent the day.  Before lunch and to honor those who had already passed away, all present released doves.  In the words of Sergio Eguiazu, “We are all believers, and so we remembered all who have left us by looking up at the sky.  It was very emotional.”

But that wasn’t the only emotional moment of the day.  In fact the arrival of some family members who had traveled several hundred kilometers to attend also made some cry. That was the case of Silvina Equiazu, who said she would be there despite the twelve hundred kilometers that separate Neuquén and Victoria, and when she arrived she smiled and said “the Basque word.”  Something similar also happened with Sergio Eguiazu who traveled 600 kilometers and met his cousin from Chaco who he hadn’t seen in 25 years.

In the afternoon everyone gathered shared anecdotes and feelings; exchanged photos and souvenirs; and gathered more data to complete the family tree. When it was time to say goodbye, those in charge of speaking were Guillermo Eguiazu from Rafaela and Jorge Eguiazu from Resistencia, and everyone also received a scroll.  The Eguiazu also set the date for their second reunion, in October 2018 in Santa Fe.