Intertwined
Sprawled between the Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol, the Smithsonian hosts the National Folklife Festival each year. Hundreds of thousands attend from across America and around the world to study and learn about diverse cultures in the United States. From June 29-July 4 and July 7-10, 2016, this year's festival will showcase the Basque in Basque: Innovation by Culture. In the lead up to this important event, Elko Basquo native and author Vince J. Jauristi has collected a series of historical and human interest articles that demonstrate how Americans and the Basque have crossed paths for centuries for the Elko Daily Free Press. An introductory article ran in January, and additional articles will run monthly through June 2016. He calls the series, "Intertwined".
About the Author
Vince J. Juaristi was born and raised in Elko, NV, the son of a first-generation Basque immigrant. He is CEO and President of ARBOLA, Inc., an information technology and consulting firm in Alexandria, VA serves federal, state, and local government agencies. Mr. Juaristi has a long history of public service at the local, national, and international levels, most recently working with the U.S. State Department to oversee the development of a National Security Court System and of the Justice Center in Parwan (JCIP) in Afghanistan. He also has long been active in the non-profit sector, as well as helping rural high school graduates in Nevada achieve a college education through his Juaristi Scholarship Program.
Mr. Juaristi's recent literary projects have focused on exploring his Basque heritage. His first work was a memoir of accompanying his father Joe Juaristi back to his native country entitled Back to Bizkaia from the University of Nevada Press. His newest book, Basque Firsts: People Who Changed the World, will be released this year, also by the University of Nevada Press.
Mr. Juaristi currently serves on the Board of Directors of Great Basin College, and gave our 2012 Commencement Address.
Celebrating the Basques of Elko
In conjunction with the Elko Euzkaldunak Club, sponsors of the 2016 Elko National Basque Festival (celebrating 53 years!), the Virtual Humanities Center at Great Basin College is proud to present an online exhibit of materials representing northern Nevada's rich Basque heritage. View the Elkokoak exhibit.
This exhibit has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor.
Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this exhibit do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
