AS the weather gets warmer and photos of European summers flood social media feeds, many Americans find themselves longing for a vacation overseas. However, with expensive airfare prices, it may seem impossible to make a European summer dream a reality. For those looking to experience the traditions and culture of Spain or France without traveling to Europe, a remote Nevada location may be the answer.
The small town of Winnemucca is home to people of Basque heritage, which originates from Northern Spain and parts of France. The Basque region, comparable to the size of Rhode Island , straddles the border of the two European countries. It includes the seven provinces of, Araba, Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa, and Navarra on the Spanish side; Laburdi, Zuberoa, and Behe-Nafarroa on the French side, according to the Center for Basque Studies at the University of Nevada.
Their native language, Euskara, is dying as only 25% of the population can speak it fluently. The Basque people began to immigrate to the US in 1850 during the California Gold Rush, according to Winnemucca's official website . The Basques are the oldest surviving ethnic group in Europe, so historians have struggled to directly trace back their roots.
They are believed to have been descended from sheepherders, as Basque is suggested to be correlated with the term. The group was largely isolated due to their location in the Pyrenees Mountains. Basques later began to immigrate around the world, and many settled in Nevada due to th.
