Boise Basque Center News: Movies, talks, and music
Movie night at the Basque Center: Kutsidazu Bidea, Ixabel
Euzkaldunak is proud to present “Movie Night” at the Basque Center.
On Thursday, February 21, Kutsidazu Bidea, Ixabel will be featured. This is a hilarious comedy with a surprise ending. The main story line is about a city boy from Donostia who goes to a baserri in the country to do an euskara immersion program and falls for the farmer’s daughter.
The movie will be shown upstairs in the card room. No-host cocktails begin at 6:30 PM, with the movie starting at 7:00 PM.
The movie is free of cost.
If you are unable to make it, you can also enjoy the movie online on EITB’s website.
The Basque Museum presents “Annual Rituals” that define Basques
On March 8, at 7:00 PM, the Basque Museum in collaboration with the BSU Basque Studies Program will host a free educational presentation by Dr. John Ysursa.
Dr. Ysursa will facilitate a presentation titled “Annual Rituals That Define Basques”. Rituals are attempts to make the invisible (e.g., ideas) visible. Rituals are also the social glue in keeping a community together. This presentation examines annual Basque rituals as a way of learning more about a people’s view of life, andwhat things are of importance historically for the Basques.
The presentation is open to the public and free of charge.
NOKA concert on February 23 at 7:00 PM
Join us on Saturday, February 23, at the Basque Center, for a concert evening with “NOKA”! NOKA is a musical trio of Basque decent from Chino, CA. This free concert is presented in celebration of the International Day of Mother Languages.
International Mother Language Day was proclaimed by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in November 1999 (30C/62). On 16 May 2009, the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution A/RES/61/266 called upon Member States “to promote the preservation and protection of all languages used by peoples of the world”. By the same resolution, the General Assembly proclaimed 2008 as the International Year of Languages, to promote unity in diversity and international understanding, through multilingualism and multiculturalism.
International Mother Language Day has been observed every year since February 2000 to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. The date represents the day in 1952 when students demonstrating for recognition of their language, Bangla, as one of the two national languages of the then Pakistan, were shot and killed by police in Dhaka, the capital of what is now Bangladesh.
Languages are the most powerful instruments of preserving and developing our tangible and intangible heritage. All moves to promote the dissemination of mother tongues will serve not only to encourage linguistic diversity and multilingual education but also to develop fuller awareness of linguistic and cultural traditions throughout the world and to inspire solidarity based on understanding, tolerance and dialogue.
The Basque singing group NOKA consists of three women of Basque descent from Chino, CA. Thus this tour is an effort on the part of NABO to also promote “our own” on a periodic basis. The group’s name derives from the Basque noka form of address among women; it means to speak familiarly or informally to women. NOKA is: Catherine Petrissans, Andrea Bidart Oteiza & Begoña Echeverria. They will also be joined by their Basque Country guitarist Laurent Ascarain and the Biotzetik Basque Choir of Boise.
Their show consists of contemporary and traditional Basque songs, including songs of their own composition. Their concert is supplemented with English translations on PowerPoint slides making the program more accessible and educational. They have performed at various Basque and non-Basque venues, and also in the Basque Country on a recent tour. Noka is a familiar form of address in Euskara used only in speaking to women. It literally means to speak familiarly or informally to women, and was used throughout the Basque Country when addressing women or girls with whom one felt “konfiantza” or trust. Use of noka began to decline in the 19th century, though speakers from some small villages (many of whom immigrated to Chino) continue to use it. NOKA hopes to revive interest in songs about women – especially those using noka forms – through its music.
This program is sponsored by the Basque government, the Basque Museum and Cultural Center, the Biotzetik Basque Choir and the Boise State University Basque Studies Center. Euzkaldunak is providing the facility for the concert.
- NABO held its first meeting of 2013 in Utah on February 2nd
- Joko Garbi players put up a good show at Boise’s Anduiza fronton
