The director of the Festival, Dave Eiguren, expressed his satisfaction in the interview given to the magazine Euskal Etxea after the edition five years ago: “We have the feeling that we are doing things well (...) The festival is something that is constantly organized. We’ll start working on the next one tomorrow.” Not surprisingly, Eiguren’s joy was met by more people than ever before in 2005, around 35,000. Thanks to the work of the work team of thirteen people and 900 volunteers of Boise Euzkalduak Inc., the biggest Basque party in the diaspora was a success, maintaining its upward trend since its creation in 1987.

So they have been working on it for years, and they have the program of the sixth edition soon. On July 27, the Festival will be welcomed in the Basque Block, a painting that brings together a large number of Basque restaurants, the Basque house, the museum, the fronton, the residences of Basque cultural groups, the market... It is the neuralgic center of the Basque community in the United States, in a certain way. There will be food and drinks, music and dance, old friends and gossip... There will be many events in the coming days. To highlight one, one could mention the performance at the Fiesta: There will be two dance groups from the Basque Country, the Oinkari de Boise dance group with a long career, bertsolaris and the Trey McIntyre Proyect ballet. The latter is the prestigious cultural ambassador of Boise, the work for which he was awarded by the mayor David Bieter, who has prepared a choreography related to Basque culture for its premiere in Jaialdi. The city of Boise estimates that for every dollar invested in cultural events, the city receives seven dollars back, and the economic impact of celebrations such as the Festival is very high – in this edition they are said to have the challenge of attracting 50,000 people to a city of about 200,000 inhabitants. Among the exponents of the Festival 2010 are the well-known companies: OficceMax, Budweiser, KeyBank...

The other important event of the celebration takes place in the Fairgrounds or Feria area. A number of dancers, 36 dance groups from six Western states, will gather this year.

The social networks of the Internet are proving very useful to promote the Festival. For example, the party will be extended to many areas of the city, and the website Euskalkazeta.com has created an interactive map on Google to locate these places. This includes celebrations, restaurants and hotels. The organization has arranged special prices with some hotels, many of which no longer have space. On the other hand, the Festival is also being disseminated on Twitter and Facebook, where you can read the opinions of those who will attend: “What do you like about the Festival?” says the question at the debate: “To celebrate my culture with friends who are not Basque, everyone wants to be Basque, whatever the cost!” says Heather; “The most emotional moment was to see how my father met a friend when he was a child” Janet; “What I like most about the festival is to see friends from Euzkadi and meet new friends. They can’t wait any longer!” Annie; “Dance, sing, eat and drink!” Diane screams.

The Mission of Festivals

But it’s a little bit more of a festival, because it serves the Basques in the US to reveal their identity: “These host countries are countries where there are many ethnic groups and you have to differentiate yourself from others. Which is the easiest route? The use of visual cultural expressions is easy to see,” writes Euskonewsen Benan Oregi, a diaspora technician at the Basque Government.

In the diaspora, in order to maintain the Basque identity, dance and similar expressions have been approached. Not so much Basque. In the following pages of this report Miel A. As Elustondo points out, first-generation Basque speakers from Nevada, Idaho, California and elsewhere are dying in recent years: “The dead Basques make up a larger list than those who live in this American West,” says Elustondo.

However, they are trying to get the younger ones to learn Basque. According to the expert Gloria Totoricagüena, after each Festival, the Basque company Euzkalduak Incorporated has a large number of new partners –around 800 days– and the celebration serves to finance the actions of the Basque community in the United States, among them the Boise Ikastola and the Udaleku project, created to promote the Basque movement of children, among others.

The intention of the First Festivals was to make a unique “holiday festival” with the day of San Ignacio. Miren Artiach, Secretary of State for Idaho Secretary of State Pete Cenarrusa, was organizing at the beginning. According to him, the goal was to share the Basque identity – “pride” – with the rest of the citizens of Boise. Then, in 1990, on the occasion of the first centenary of the State of Idaho, the Governor asked the Basques to celebrate another Festival, and that was done. The second edition was very well received and it was decided that it would be held every five years. It has been an event that has gradually gained popularity, both in Idaho and internationally.

President Patxi López to the Basque diaspora for the first time

As in previous Festivals, this year there will be a lot of people coming to Boise from the Basque Country, such as dance groups, bertsolaris, popular sportsmen and/or musicians, as well as vacationers. There will be no shortage of politicians and institutional representatives.
The organization has invited President Patxi López, who has confirmed that if there are no last-minute surprises, he will be there. The news has aroused interest in the fact that since his appointment as president he has not made such visits to the diaspora. The government of López has found great reluctance in the Basque community of America, which Ibarretxe took great care of, and this trip to Idaho has been understood by many as a “real test”. As if that were not enough, a few weeks ago a controversy broke out when it was revealed that the Deputy General of Bizkaia, José Luis Bilbao (EAJ), will attend the Festival on his own. The Diputación stated that Bilbao’s trip was prepared in advance, but the socialists saw behind it the strategy of “shading” the President. Deputy for Foreign Affairs of the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa Iñaki Galdos (H1!) He will also be there with another delegation.Boise’s reference newspaper,

Idaho Statesman, published an article titled “Politics can interfere with Jaialdin.” In the article, the managers of Euzkaduak Inc. say that it is not a “political event” but a cultural one, and they do not expect there to be any disturbance. The well-known politicians of Basque origin in Idaho share the same opinion: “Most people just want to celebrate and enjoy the culture,” says John Bieter, the mayor’s brother.