Basques in Boise

The Oinkaris'' commemorative booklet most likely does not recount all of the events, good times and anecdotes experienced by the Boise Basque dancers during their 50 years of existence, as that would require hundreds of pages. However, the brochure does succeed in summing up some of the group''s best moments as one of the most visible elements of Idaho''s Basque-American heritage.

Dedicated to the seven people who originally started the Oinkari dream in the summer of 1960 and to all the people that have supported the group throughout the years, the book is just one of the means by which the Boise dancers plan to celebrate their 50th anniversary.

The opening chapter explains the origins of the group and gives thanks to Simon Achabal, Clarine Anchustegui, Delphina Urresti, Beatrice Solosabal, Toni Murelaga, Diana Urresti and Al Erquiaga for setting in motion the creation of the group after meeting the Basque Country''s Oinkari dancers and learning some of their dances.

The beginnings were by turns "exhilarating and disappointing" for the girls, as there were more girls than boys and many times they had to stand in for the boys seeing as most Basque dances are interpretations of battles that naturally featured men.

This problem was solved fairly quickly. The early dancers made dancing a cool thing to do and succeeded in attracting guys. You could be a Basque dancer and a football player. Besides, there were many young ladies in the group.

Yet all this would not have been possible without the musicians, who have been providing live music for both rehearsals and performances for the past 50 years. The book mentions all of them but pays special attention to Jim Jausoro and Domingo Ansotegui, the "Godfathers of the Oinkari musicians".

Why do we dance?

According to John Ysursa, Oinkaris dance because they are Basque. By dancing, they define themselves as Basque and keep one of the world''s oldest cultures alive. This has remained unchanged for these 50 years even if the dances themselves have evolved over time.

The book goes over some of the dances that the first dancers learnt, how they adapted them to their own situations and how they were inspired to create new dances. Some of the dances they do, the jota barri for example, is not a traditional dance but is one of the oldest that the Oinkari do and has become a common thread across the five decades.

It also looks at some of the most remarkable performances done by the Boise dancers. The Sheepherder''s Ball and San Inazio festivals are the most special because they are in Boise, yet there have also been others, such as the 1962 World''s Fair in Seattle, Nundik Nora in 1985, the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. in 1985 and the Jaialdis that have put the Basque Dancers in the spotlight on a grander scale.

On the road

But not all the fun moments involve dancing. Some of the most memorable moments involve traveling or other activities such as fundraisers to raise the money to cover travel expenses.

The book gathers lots of the experiences lived by the Oinkaris on planes, buses and automobiles and at fundraising activities. Airskadi was one of those events, a talent show that brought together the group''s biggest supporters and helped the Basque dancers to make their second voyage to the Basque Country in the summer of 2003.

Yet it does not forget chorizo. Once an Oinkari, always a chorizo vendor, it says; the sale of chorizo spans the five decades of the group and has become something of a feature, with a long-running presence at the Western Idaho Fair, Art in the Park and Hyde Park Street Fair events.

Oinkari dancing has created many lifelong friendships but it doesn''t stop there. So far, twenty-two couples have got married after meeting each other as members of the group. And there will be more to come as the future of the Oinkaris is bright. More than 150 boys and girls between 4 to 14 years dance at Boiseko Gazteak, learning the Basque dances from an early age and longing to become an Oinkari some day.