euskalkultura.eus

Porto, Alegre, Brazil.  The Euskal Etxea in Rio Grande do Sul is a unique Basque club that serves a region, more than a particular city as explained to EuskalKultura.com by its president Ana Luiza Etchaluz. “It is headquartered in the capital of Porto Alegre, but it also has groups in other cities across the state, line in Pelotas, Santana do Livramento and Uruguaina, among others.”  Etchaluz indicated that the state of Rio Grande do Sul is probably the Brazilian state with the largest concentration of Basque, “the majority of which are descendants of those who emigrated between 1840-1875 to Rio de la Plata (Uruguay and Argentina).”

Etchaluz authored a book on the Basque presence in Brazil, Alma Basca, (The Basque Soul), and clarifies “that the majority of the cities on the border between Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina have a large Basque presence.  However, this growing culture in Brazil has never been maintained, for reasons that we are still trying to understand.”

Itinerant Meetings

The club proposes precisely to restore and maintain that legacy and currently has succeeded to gather a good number of Basque-Brazilian.  From the forty founding members that created the club just over a year ago, they have already grown to more than 200 interested people.

“We are beginning the grouping process, identifying and training the community.  Our idea is larger than just simply establishing a club, as in the traditional model,” she says.  “We don’t have a permanent home yet, because our legal records are being finalized and our meetings are itinerant having held them in Porto Alegre, Pelotas, Livresmente Santan and soon we’ll go to Uruguaiana.” 

[Members of Rio Grande do Sul’s Basque club during a meeting held at the Bazkaria, restaurant owned by Chef Haritz Aranburu (photo RioBrandedoSul)]

2013 Goals

Among the club’s goals for 2013 Etchaluz highlights the cataloguing the largest number of families possible and recuperate historic collections, as well as to create Basque classes and organize events that would allow anyone interested to connect to the culture of their ancestors.

She also highlights the presence of Basque descendants in the area as demonstrated by the surnames of some families in the area: Aguirre, Archondo, Argañaraz, Askonabieta, Etchalus, Etchepare, Etcheverry, Escosteguy, Damboriarena, Aranburu, Irouleguy, Iribarren, Longaray, Irigoyen, Goycoechea, Insaurriaga, Echenique, Elizalde, Etchebeste, Echebarria, Sorondo, Salabarrey, Telechea, Ugalde, Zabaleta...

For more information on the club visit them on Facebook.