Author: beobasque

“Growing up, I spent a lot of meaningful time with my family in Euskadi. As I’ve gotten older, life has grown more complicated- loved ones pass, school becomes life, and returning to the Basque Country becomes harder and harder. In that distance, I have found myself feeling more and more disconnected from my heritage. The song Txoria Txori, which translates to “The Bird is a Bird,” tells the story of someone who loves a bird so much that they won’t clip its wings. It’s a metaphor for freedom, and it reminded me of my own family, especially my mother, who grew up in Euskadi and shared this song with me. I am proud to come from a family that let me spread my wings as a student of music, and who encouraged me to experience my culture independently, sending me to live with my incredible host family, the Aristis, in Vitoria-Gasteiz at a young age. In this performance, I sing Txoria Txori in Euskera as a way of honoring my heritage and reconnecting with my identity as a Basque-American. In this video I sing in the garden my grandmother planted when she emigrated from Euskadi to the United States in the 1980s, a space that has become a living symbol of our roots growing in new soil. The images in my video pay tribute to my time in the Basque Country, both with my host family and on visits to see relatives and loved ones. As a future music educator, I believe in the power of music to tell stories, preserve language, and bring people home to themselves. Basque music is more than tradition. It is a living, evolving reminder of who we are. Through this performance, I join a centuries-long tradition of Basque voices, and I carry that legacy forward.”

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“I have always heard and have known Basque songs as long as I can remember. Growing up in Boise has been such a privelage to be so immersed in the culture I have always known. I thought I heard and understood it all until I started traveling back to the Basque Country and other states and started experiencing new sounds, instruments, and artworks. I realized the power of Basque music and how it has evolved and influenced so many communites over hundreds of generations. My inspiration for my poem was the vast diversity of Basque music and how it has changed me with every new element I learn. This is a poem that reflects the few of many tools and types of Basque music that I have cherished and remembered througout my life. It is a tale of my own journey through Euskal Musika and how it has made me who I am. Thank you for this opportunity to show my love and gratitude to the music that has raised me and continues to change me.”

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“Music has always been a very central part of my life, especially Basque music. I was first exposed to Basque music at the Basque dinners my parents hosted for members of our small, rural Northern Idaho community. I wasn’t aware of it at the time, but this was the beginning of my association between Basque music and the community it builds. This initial exposure to Basque music was the catalyst that encouraged me to get more involved in my culture and heritage through learning the accordion and joining Boise’s Basque accordion and pandero band, participating in Basque dancing, and traveling abroad and making international connections with others through music at festivals. Looking back, I can see just how present and impactful Basque music has been throughout my life. It has taken me on a journey full of life-changing adventures and experiences, but most importantly, it has allowed me to connect with so many wonderful people, from strangers to family and friends. That is the power of music, the power to bring us together and forget about our differences. And that is why music is the essence, the soul, of the Basque community.”

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