Latest Blog Posts
3 Basque Restaurants Featured on The Food Network
The Food Network show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives is a staple on American cable television. Over the years, the show has visited 3 Basque American restaurants!
The reality show follows host Guy Fieri as he takes road trips across the United States visiting independent eateries.
On the air since 2007, the show has run an impressive 26 seasons with a total of 260 episodes. It has been nominated for 5 Primetime Emmy Awards in the Outstanding Structured Reality Program category, as well as several Emmy nominations for host Guy Fieri.
Basque Athlete to Watch: Tennis Star Garbiñe Muguruza
The US Open is going on in the world of tennis right now, and I wanted to take a minute to highlight one of the most successful Basque athletes of our time, tennis pro Garbiñe Muguruza.
She formerly ranked #1 in the world by the Women’s Tennis Association, but Muguruza was unfortunately just knocked out of the competition last week by Czech qualifier Karolina Muchova.
Despite this setback, Muguruza is still a Basque athlete to root for, with six singles titles and five doubles titles earned in her relatively short career. The 24-year-old has only been playing professionally since 2012.
Two of Muguruza’s titles were at Grand Slam tournaments, seeing her winning the 2016 French Open and Wimbledon in 2017. In recognition of her accomplishments, the International Tennis Federation named Muguruza World Champion last year.
Basques Are Unique: It’s In Our Blood
Several people have asked on the Hella Basque Instagram account how they can learn more about Basque culture, and I opened the question up to our Facebook page.
For many Basque Americans, The Basque History of the World: The Story of a Nation by Mark Kurlansky has been essential to discovering more about the Basques throughout history, especially in regards to the language, culture, and origins of the Basque people.
Linguists have determined Euskara, the Basque language, to be a language isolate, pre-Indo European and unrelated to any other language in the world.
Scientists aren’t sure where the Basques came from, but the latest research speculates that the Basques came from a group of farmers on the Iberian Peninsula that lived between 3,500 and 5,500 years ago.
These ancestors would have become isolated from later waves of migration from central Europe and North Africa around 5,000 years ago, as Basques do not show any genetic ties to those groups. By contrast, 10% to 25% of non-Basques on the Iberian Peninsula have genomes related to these central European and North African farmers.
But I find one element that makes the Basques unique to be most interesting, and that is the question of blood type.
La Vuelta a España to Visit the Basque Country in Stage 17
Last month we got to witness the excitement of the Tour de France passing through the Basque Country for the first time in 12 years.
Luckily for us, that’s not the end of Basque sporting excitement this summer.
La Vuelta a España is just around the corner! It starts in Málaga on August 25th and finishes in Madrid on September 16th.
Started in 1935 after the successes of the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia, La Vuelta is another multi-stage cycling race that runs throughout Spain and sometimes its neighboring countries.
The race takes place in 21 day-long segments over 23 days, just like the other Grand Tours of cycling.
How the Basques Defeated Europe’s Greatest Army and How History Erased Them
Today marks the anniversary of one of the Basque’s most successful military victories in history.
1,240 years ago today, on August 15, 778 AD, the Basques defeated Frankish king Charlemagne’s army at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass (Euskara: Orreaga).
Basque warriors ambushed Charlemagne’s rear guard as the Frankish army crossed the Pyrenees back into France, killing every last Frank. Some estimate the number of people killed in the rear guard to be around 2,000, with minimal casualties on the side of the Basques.
So how and why did this slaughter happen?
Sit back, relax, and let’s get into it.
The Ultimate List of Hollywood Movies Filmed in the Basque Country
The Basque Country has been host to several Hollywood films over the years.
Some of these movies were critically acclaimed award winners, others were box office flops.
Here is a rundown of the major American movies that have used the Basque Country as a filming location:
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When I moved away for college, I left behind my Basque American community and felt very disconnected from my Basque identity. An isolation I imagine many in the diaspora may feel at one point or another.
My hope is that Hella Basque can help Basques in the diaspora feel more connected to their heritage, whether or not they have physical ties to a Basque community.
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