Land of the Ancient Basques, a 1968 article by National Geographic

By A Basque in Boise December 31, 2012 Basque, History, News 14 Comments

I hadn’t realized until now what a slacker I’ve been these last few days, but I didn’t want to leave the year on an empty blog. Fortunately, my friend Javier from About Basque Country Blog came the rescue and shared with me a very interesting article from National Geographic which, in turn, I’d like to share with you.

On December 29, the National Geographic website chose as Photo of the Day an image featuring Basque farmers originally published in the magazine’s August 1968 issue. The photo is part of a 38-page article on the Basque Country titled “Land of the Ancient Basques”, which is available to the public on the New York Society Library website as single page .jpg downloads (240-277). For your convenience, I compiled them all into a single PDF file. The print quality is not the best and you might end up slightly dizzy after you’re done with the article, but it’s readable and so worth it.

To view or download the pdf, follow this link: Land of the Ancient Basques.

The text was written by Robert Laxalt, a Basque-American writer from Nevada, and the photos were taken by photographer and writer William Albert Allard, who has been a major force at National Geographic and in mainstream photography for almost 50 years.

I hope you guys enjoy the article, although I doubt that anyone will read it today. In the meantime, you can watch (it’s probably a rerun for many of you), this 1950’s documentary video made by Orson Welles for the BBC, also about the Basques, in English with Basque subtitles.

URTE BERRI ON DENEI!

Para leer el artículo en castellano, haz clic aquí.

Thanks for passing by: ↓

Amaya Oxarango-Ingram Steven Roosevelt MARIA JESUS NeskaBaska Julian Abio A.C. Mota-Barreneche

14 thoughts on “Land of the Ancient Basques, a 1968 article by National Geographic”

Steven Roosevelt December 31, 2012 at 12:21

Thanks for the find. Very informative. Happy New Year.
Steven Roosevelt December 31, 2012 at 12:21

Thanks for the find. Very informative. Happy New Year.
Henar Chico December 31, 2012 at 12:28

Thanks Steven, Happy New Year to you, I hope you have a good one. I’m planning on it, with my kids at the Grove!
Henar Chico December 31, 2012 at 12:28

Thanks Steven, Happy New Year to you, I hope you have a good one. I’m planning on it, with my kids at the Grove!
NeskaBaska December 31, 2012 at 13:46

Oh, no! I can’t believe you just mentioned Robert Laxalt . Now I am the one feeling like a slacker because I should be working on my dissertation and I haven’t done so for a month… Oh well, there’s always next year, right?
NeskaBaska December 31, 2012 at 13:46

Oh, no! I can’t believe you just mentioned Robert Laxalt . Now I am the one feeling like a slacker because I should be working on my dissertation and I haven’t done so for a month… Oh well, there’s always next year, right?
Julian Abio January 4, 2013 at 14:18

I have that original National Geographic magazine somewhere in y home. Great article .
Julian Abio January 4, 2013 at 14:18

I have that original National Geographic magazine somewhere in y home. Great article .
Henar Chico January 4, 2013 at 14:28

Hi Julian, really? I don’t want to give you work, but the quality of the scanned pages in the New York Society Library website is not the best really. It’d be awesome to have them rescanned!@Julian Abio
Henar Chico January 4, 2013 at 14:28

Hi Julian, really? I don’t want to give you work, but the quality of the scanned pages in the New York Society Library website is not the best really. It’d be awesome to have them rescanned!@Julian Abio
A.C. Mota-Barreneche January 4, 2013 at 20:01

I need your help locating my mothers biological father and/or half-sisters. Please contact me should you recognize the names. Father’s name is Josú (José) Barreneche Echeverri (b. circa 1920), his brother Emilio Barreneche Echeverri (b. circa 1924),
José’s wife Maria Del Carmen Aldave (b. circa 1923), Marta Barrreneche Aldave (b. circa 1950), Mirentxu “Mirenchu” Barrreneche Aldave (b. circa 1953), MariCarmen Barrreneche Aldave (b. circa 1957) and Teresa Barrreneche Aldave (b. circa 1960). Thank you. jbecheverri@gmail.com
A.C. Mota-Barreneche January 4, 2013 at 20:01

I need your help locating my mothers biological father and/or half-sisters. Please contact me should you recognize the names. Father’s name is Josú (José) Barreneche Echeverri (b. circa 1920), his brother Emilio Barreneche Echeverri (b. circa 1924),
José’s wife Maria Del Carmen Aldave (b. circa 1923), Marta Barrreneche Aldave (b. circa 1950), Mirentxu “Mirenchu” Barrreneche Aldave (b. circa 1953), MariCarmen Barrreneche Aldave (b. circa 1957) and Teresa Barrreneche Aldave (b. circa 1960). Thank you. jbecheverri@gmail.com
Connie Rascon Gunther January 6, 2013 at 22:07

Thank you for the article. It was very informative to learn more about my father’s Basque heritage.
Connie Rascon Gunther January 6, 2013 at 22:07

Thank you for the article. It was very informative to learn more about my father’s Basque heritage.