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NABO UDAZKEN
BILTZARRA:
The "Chorizo, Beans & OTHER THINGS" Forum |
Years ago a book was published with
the title of "Chorizo, Beans and other things." It was a collection of
poems with some illustrations, but it was the title that resonated because it
succinctly captured the essence of "Basqueness" here in America.
We know what chorizo and beans are.
Furthermore we know that these elements of Basque culture seem certain to
endure; e.g., one can buy chorizo now in the grocery stores of Boise and Basque
beans are famous in the Bakersfield restaurants. No--those things seem
certain to continue if for no other reason than they taste good. It's the
last part of the title, however, the "other things" that is now our focus.
What are these other things of Basque culture, and which do we want to work to
preserve and promote? What is worth our time, energy and money? A
culture endures only if one generation succeeds in transmitting key elements to
the next. So succinctly the issue on hand for the NABO Udazken Biltzarra
(Basque for Fall Conference but a.k.a. the "Chorizo, Beans & Other Things"
Conference) is: what do we want to teach our kids about being Basque and
how can we best do that?
The mission of the North American
Basque Organizations, Inc (NABO) remains the same since its founding over three
decades ago--the promotion of Basque culture here in America. But now it is a
generation later, and we need to take another look at what this means and how it
can be best accomplished. Succinctly, the goal is to get people discussing some
ideas about where we see NABO (and our own Basque community) 15 years down the
road.
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This chart of cultural
transmission tries to plot out how culture in imparted. A
culture endures only if one generation succeeds in transmitting
key element to the next. One objective of the weekend
conference is to put the social sciences to work for us as tools
to more effectively communicate Basque culture to others. |
Assuming that one wants to see our
Basque heritage endure, the task then breaks down into three parts: 1)
what specific "other things" does one want to emphasize; 2) what challenges and
obstacles stand in the way of successfully transmitting this aspect of Basque
culture (e.g., generations separated from the Basque country; loss of the Basque
language; multiple options for recreation and affiliation, etc.) and 3) then
locating and utilizing effective strategies to meet these challenges (i.e.,
putting the social sciences to work for us to find ways that work to keep
Basqueness alive). There is no urgency in the sense that this needs to be
accomplished by the end of this year; nevertheless the
time is now to begin formulating an effective strategy or strategies and that is
where NABO can play a useful role by getting people together from different
experiences to share their knowledge. The modest goal of this October
weekend, therefore, is hopefully the commencement of a
useful inter-club dialogue on the
ways that we can more effectively accomplish NABO's mission and by extension,
that of our own local Basque organization to keep Basque culture alive.
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The NABO
Udazken Biltzarra is fortunate to count with the contributions
of Professor Gloria Totoricaguena, Director of the Center for
Basque Studies at the University of Nevada, Reno. An
acknowledged expert on the Basque Diaspora, she will be making a presentation to the assembled youth directors and NABO
delegates during the October 20-21st Conference. |
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The NABO Udazken Biltzarra is
fortunate to count with the contributions of Professor Gloria Totoricaguena,
Director of the Center for Basque Studies at the University of Nevada, Reno.
Having spent years traveling throughout the Basque Diaspora (or global Basque
community), she is an acknowledged expert. She has seen what has worked
and not worked in various Basque communities. Her talks will provide a
more in-depth examination of pertinent issues in the "other things" discussion
that includes
leadership in all-volunteer organizations, effective fund-raising and budgeting
in organizations, comparison of Basque organizations to other ethnic groups in
the USA, global aspects of ethnic identity maintenance, increasing/improving
quality of club memberships and not only quantity, etc.
To make this work, what is needed are volunteers from
our NABO community to sign-up for subcommittee work to help plan these sessions.
There is no set agenda until we hear from interested persons about what should
be covered. Click on the following links below to find out more about each
specific element where you can send in your name if you are willing to participate in
this organization phase. We're looking for people who can find some time to
share their insights as to what might work for us; i.e., what "other things" should we
be concentrating on and how can we transmit them more effectively.
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A highlight of the weekend
conference will be a presentation by Juan Antonio Urbeltza, a
leading expert on Basque folklore. His presentation will
chronicle the transformation of the Basque dance world, as well
as the prevailing the theories that explain the origins of many
of our dances. |
Tentative
timeline:
At the Buffalo NABO meeting in July delegates approved of the following upcoming events. Now our task is
to create several subcommittees to help organize the various facets below that
will be held in conjunction. The weekend consists of interfacing five
separate yet related elements
Step 1: This is a call for
volunteers to be a part of a committee to assist with one (or more) of the
events below. Follow the links here for more information:
Step 2: Between now and the
end of September, initial brainstorming sessions with rounds of emails (perhaps
conference calls) to finalize a list of items for a viable agenda.
Step 3: First of October an
agenda goes out to participants to allow time for preparation
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The
invitations have gone out, and we are hoping that delegations
from the Mexico City, Vancouver & Montreal will join us for
exploratory sessions about trying to do some things
together--thereby fulfilling the original intent of taking the
name North American. |
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Tentative schedule of events
for the NABO Udazken Biltzarra:
Oct 19 (Thu): Suggested
arrival; hotel accommodation information will soon be made available.
Oct 20 (Fri): NABO Youth Director Workshop at the Center for Basque
Studies (University of Nevada, Reno)
> Morning & afternoon sessions of club youth directors workshop exploring ways
of better integrating Basque youth into clubs
> NABO delegates are invited to join with the youth directors in this workshop
if they'd like
> College Lecture Series: Juan Antonio Urbeltz & Basque Folklore
Oct 21 (Sat): NABO Delegate Forum at the Overland Basque Restaurant
(Gardnerville)
> Morning session begins with a summary of essentials, then moves to a forum on
formulating a plan of action for the next 15 years
> Youth directors are invited to participate
> Afternoon session continues the forum
> Evening event is a dinner/dance
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