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Boise, USA. The Basque Museum in Boise, Idaho, hosted a presentation last Tuesday on the history of the Basque flag. Oscar Alvarez Gila’s presentation followed last month’s talk by BSU History professor John Bieter on Basque migration. Professor Alvarez has done extensive research on Basque identity, and on how people define themselves as Basques. During his presentation, he talked about the different attempts in both the Basque Country and Basque communities in the Americas to create and use various models of iconic representations of Basque identity.

The Ikurrina was not the Basque Country’s first flag, he explained. In 1881, Pedro Soraluce designed one, which was welcomed with open arms by the Diaspora in America, but not so much by the Basque Country. Today’s Ikurrina was created by Sabino Arana but closely resembles Soraluce’s original flag.

Upcoming presentation

-5/24/2011: La Pelota Vasca

Educational Presentation – view the 2003 film, La Pelota Vasca - documenting the views of people of various ideologies and points of view in the Basque Country. This will be followed by a discussion that will focus on the prospect for a new dialogue on the future of the Basque Country today.