The lard from around the kidney was carefully removed, the lacy lining, the caul, was set aside, as was the liver, and the heart. The lungs were hung on a hook by the esophagus, eventually to be fed to the dog who had by now lost all interest in the former Pepe because he no longer detected the scent of fear or death— or Pepe; there was only food.
The intestines were taken out and handed to the women, who received them with unhappy smiles. After Julián removed all of the organs, he opened the back and the men hoisted the legless carcass on a chain and hung it from a beam. While Julián carefully carved the fillet into thin medallions, the women were working on the intestines: emptying them, washing them over and over, soaking them in salted vinegar.
Then they went to the kitchen, where only a single row of last fall’s choricero still hung from the ceiling. The men sat at the long table, where crusty bread and bottles of Rioja wine had been placed. The kitchen had both an electric and a wood-burning stove, but only the wood burner was used. First, porrusalda, a hot leek and potato soup, was served, followed by salt cod and red pepper salad with slices of garlic in olive oil. Then came slices of Pepe’s grilled liver, followed by grilled sliced fillet of victim, and then brazo gitano, a custard-filled sponge cake. Then coffee, brandy, Cuban cigars.
They laughed and joked in Euskera and in Spanish. One of the neighbors complained that he could not understand “these Euskaldunberri and their Batua.” He could understand Guipúzcoan or any of the other dialects, “but this Batua, maybe if I listen to something twice I could get it.”
The neighbor’s son, Igor, with his dark hair and black eyes, his long straight nose, his thin face, strong chin, and thick eyebrows, looked like a portrait of a Basque by a romantic painter. Igor had no intention of a life on the farm. He worked in a factory where he made as much money in a month as he could in three months of farm work. But he learned his part at the txarribodas. Julián worried about preparing someone to take his own place so he could be certain that a time would not come when there would be no more txarribodas in the community.
After lunch, the women chopped the greens off twenty leeks, then cooked the chopped whites over a slow fire so that they poached in their own juices. They did the same with five chopped onions. Then they cooked three and a third pounds of rice until it was overboiled porridge. They diced the lard and put it in a basin, mixing it with the cooked and drained ingredients, a pound of chopped parsley, a dozen chopped guindillas, two large handfuls of coarse salt, and they slowly added the pig’s blood until the basin was filled with a bright red mush.
Then the women crossed themselves. They say this is the only insurance against the intestine skins breaking. With the help of an aluminum funnel, they stuffed the skins and tied them off into sausages. They then cooked them for twenty minutes in a pot with the leek greens, which help protect the blood sausage from breaking. Cold water was constantly added to keep the boiling down, since a strong boil also would break the skins.
Meanwhile, with the skillful use of Julián’s knife, the men reduced the former farmyard animal into a series of cuts of meat. The head was removed, and the ears and cheeks were cut off for eating. They had slabs of fatback, slabs of bacon, legs ready to cure into ham, chops, loins. The meat for the chorizo would soak for a day, and then the sausages would dry for another week by wood-burning fires.
They had a week of continuous pork feasting ahead of them. To sell any of this would be a violation of health laws. The entire txarriboda might be illegal; it’s not certain. But they just eat among themselves with their neighbors once a year.
The blood sausages were grilled on a wood-burning hearth in the living room, and when they were done, it was time to sit once again at the long table in the kitchen where the choriceros were drying overhead. The Rioja and bread were distributed again. They joked in Basque about the large behind of Felisa’s sister, Estafanía, who was plump and round and had a contagious laugh.
Estafanía’s husband presented his theory that all Basques go to heaven because they don’t know how to curse, a hypothesis that met with snickers. There are no swear words in Euskera. The only one anyone could come up with was madarikátue, which means “damned.” The others thought you could still get to heaven if all you said was madarikátue. But Estafanía said, “No. It won’t work. We Basques swear all the time. It’s just that the words we use are maketos.”
They all laughed. After chorizo, there was the blood sausage, which had a fresh vegetable taste unlike any commercial blood sausage. Next came slices from a cut just above the leg.
Well fed and contented, Estafanía sighed and said, “You see, the best times in life are the first year of marriage and the week you kill the pig.”
THE SIXTEENTH-CENTURY Guipúzcoan Esteban de Garibay, the first scholar of Basque history and the first to attempt to trace the origin of the Basque people and language, told the Castilian crown in the clear simplicity of the ancient language, that which Basques have been saying ever since: “Garean gareana legez,” Let us be what we are.
* * *
* * *
Also by Mark Kurlansky
COD
A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World
A CHOSEN FEW
The Resurrection of European Jewry
A CONTINENT OF ISLANDS
Searching for the Caribbean Destiny
* * *
The Basque Thank You
* * *
I AM THAT rare and fortunate writer, completely convinced that I work with the best people in publishing: my agent, Charlotte Sheedy, who makes me smile while she persuades me, along with everyone else; George Gibson, still my ideal of what a publisher should be; and most especially Nancy Miller, whose skill and wisdom are always there both as an editor and as a most wonderful friend in good and bad times.
I also want to thank the talented and helpful people at Walker & Company who make it the great house it is; Kristine Puopolo for her interest and advice; Matt Spetalnick for his help in Madrid; and Virginia Peters, who a long time ago came with me to fish beautiful streams and bravely stared down back-alley thugs in patent leather hats.
So many great Basques enriched this book with their generosity, interest, knowledge, and experience. I especially want to thank Joseba Zulaika, who did much to improve this book and has been far too helpful to list alphabetically; Teresa Barrenechea for so much generosity and enthusiasm, for sharing her friends, for being a one-woman public relations force in Vizcaya, and for improving my pil pil backhand; Miel Elvstondo for answering so many of my endless questions; Eva Forest for much valuable advice and assistance, and all the great books; Ramón and Clotilde Labayen for their friendship, hospitality, and advice.
Thanks also go to Jose Allendesalazar for his help and interest; Begoña Aretxaga for her thoughts and advice; the Aranzadi Zientzi Elkartea for help with the Elkain cave drawings; Arautza Barandiaran for her help at the San Telmo Museum in San Sebastián; Amaia Basterretxea for her patient assistance at the Euskal Arkeologia, Etnografia eta Kondaira Museum in Bilbao; Itxaro Borda for her help in Mauléon; José Juan Castillo, the great chef, for his kindness and advice; Maïte Faure for her help in Mauléon; Charles-Paul Gaudin for sharing his photo collection; José Gorrotxategi Pikasarri, the great pastry maker of Tolosa, for his thoughts and advice; Maite Idirin for her thoughts and advice; José Luis Iturrieta for his help and many kindnesses; Felisa Madariaga and Julián Gabikaetxebarria for their friendship, hospitality, and advice; Luis Núñez Astrain for his help at Egin; Olivier Ribeton for help at the Basque Museum in Bayonne, Soko Romano Aguirre for her help at the San Sebastián Maritime Museum; Amaia Zabalo for her help at the Kutxa Fototeka.
And to Josefina Aguirre and the late Kattalin Aguirre for first speaking Basque in front of me, for their hospitality, and for teaching and inspiring so many with courage and kindness.
To all the kind and tough people of Euskadi who have helped me through the years: eskerrik asko, thank you.
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/>
Maps
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Basqueland’s Seven Provinces
Basque Border Passes
Basque Coastline
Pilgrim Routes to Santiago
German-Occupied France
Operation Comet
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Bibliography
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DICTIONARIES
Aulestia, Gorka, and Linda White. Basque-English/English-Basque Dictionary. Reno and Las Vegas: University of Nevada Press, 1992.
Egaña, Iñaki. Diccionario histórico-político de Euskal Herria. Tafalla, Navarra: Txalaparta, 1996.
Euskera-Frantsesa/Frantsesa-Euskera. Bayonne and San Sebastián: Elkar, 1997.
King, Alan R., and Begotxu Olaizola Elordi. Colloquial Basque. London and New York: Routledge, 1996.
Narbarte Iraola, N. Diccionario de apellidos Vascos. San Sebastián: Editorial Txertoa, 1989.
GENERAL SPANISH HISTORY
Callahan, William James. Church, Politics, and Society in Spain, 1750-1874. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1984.
Carr, Raymond. Modern Spain, 1875-1980. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1980.
Clough, Arthur Hugh, ed. Plutarch’s Lives. Trans. John Dryden. New York: Modern Library, 1992.
Jane, Ceci, ed. The Four Voyages of Columbus. New York: Dover, 1988.
Kamen, Henry Arthur. The Spanish Inquisition: A Historical Revision. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998.
Preston, Paul. Franco. New York: Basic Books, 1994. (A thorough and unflinching treatment.)
Thomas, Hugh. The Spanish Civil War. New York, Harper and Row, 1977. (The indispensable source on the war.)
IGNATIUS LOYOLA
Lacouture, Jean. Jesuits: A multibiography. Washington, D.C.: Counterpoint, 1995.
Meissner, W. W. Ignatius of Loyola: The Psychology of a Saint. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1992.
Olin, John C., ed. The Autobiography of St. Ignatius Loyola. New York: Fordham University Press, 1992.
Tellechea Idígoras, José Ignacio. Ignatius of Loyola: The Pilgrim Saint. Chicago: Loyola University Press, 1994.
SABINO ARANA
Arana Goiri, Sabino. Bizkaya por su independencia. Bilbao: Editorial GEU Argitaldaria, 1980.
Basaldua, Pedro. El Libertador Vasco: Sabino Arana Goiri. Bilbao: Editorial GEU Argitaldaria, 1977.
Elorza, Antonio, ed. Sabino Arana Goiri: La Patria de los Vascos: Antología de escritos políticos. San Sebastián: R & B Ediciones, 1995.
´´Jemein y Lanbari, Ceferino. Biografía de Arana-Goiri’ Tar Sabin: E Historia gráfica del nacionalismo. Bilbao: Editorial Vasca, 1935.
ETA AND BASQUE NATIONALISM
Calleja, José María. Contra la barbarie: Un Alegato en favor de las victimas de ETA. Madrid: Ediciones Tema de Hoy, 1997. Cassan, Patrick. Le Pouvoir Français et la question Basque (1981-1993). Paris and Montreal, L’Harmattan, 1997.
Clark, Robert P. Negotiating with ETA: Obstacles to Peace in the Basque Country, 1975-1988. Reno and Las Vegas: University of Nevada Press, 1990.
Corcuera Atienza, Javier. Orígenes, ideología y organización del nacionalismo Vasco: 1876-1904. Madrid: Siglo Veintiuno de España, 1979. (A valuable detailed study of the roots of modern Basque nationalism.)
Douglass, William A., ed. Basque Politics: A Case Study in Ethnic Nationalism. Reno: Associated Faculty Press and Basque Studies Program, 1985.
Forest, Eva (Julen Agirre). Operación Ogro: Como y por qué ejecutemos a Carrero Blanco. Hendaye: Ediciones Mugalde, 1974. (The original underground publication, republished by Eva Forest in 1993 under her own name.)
Garmendia, Vincente. La Ideología Carlista (1868-1876): En los orígenes del nacionalismo Vasco. Zarautz: Diputación Foral de Guipúzcoa, 1985.
Granja Sainz, José Luis de la. El Nacionalismo Vasco: Un Siglo de historia. Madrid: Editoriales Tecnos, 1995.
Letamendia Belzunce, Francisco. Historia del nacionalismo Vasco y de E.T.A.. 3 vols. Vol. 1, E.T.A. en el Franquismo (1951-1976), vol. 2, E.T.A. en la transicion (1976-1982), vol. 3, E.T.A y el gobierno de PSOE (1982-1992). San Sebastián: R & B Ediciones, 1994.
Morán, Gregorio. Los Españoles que dejaron de serlo: Euskadi, 1937-1981. Barcelona: Planeta, 1982. (Still one of the best discussions of the issues.)
Rubio, Antonio, and Manuel Cerdan. El Origen del GAL. Madrid: Ediciones Tema de Hoy, 1997.
Zulaika, Joseba, and William A. Douglas. Terror and Taboo: The Follies, Fables, and Faces of Terrorism. New York and London: Routledge, 1996.
HUMAN RIGHTS
Amnesty International. Spain, the Question of Torture: Documents Exchanged by Amnesty International and the Government of Spain. 1985.
—.International Reports: 1975-1998.
—.“Report of an Amnesty International Mission to Spain.” July 1975.
—.“Report of an Amnesty International Mission to Spain.” October 3-28, 1979.
—.“Torture in the Eighties: Global Survey.” 1984.
—.“Spain: AI Calls for Safeguards Against Torture,” Amnesty International Newsletter 15, no. 7 (9 July 1985).
—.“Spain: Allegations of Torture and Ill-Treatment.” March 1987.
—.“Summary of Amnesty International’s Concerns Related to the Torture and Ill-Treatment of Detainees in Spain.” April 1990.
—.“Spain: Torture and Ill-Treatment: Summary of Amnesty International’s Concerns.” March 1993.
—.“Comments by Amnesty International on the Government’s Fourth Periodic Report to the Human Rights Committee (UN). April 1996.
—.“Spain: A Brief Summary of Amnesty International’s Concerns.” January-October 1997.
Arana, Begoña. Senideak: El largo viaje de la solidaridad. Hondarrabia: Hiru Argitaletxea, 1996.
Forest, Eva. Diario y Cartas desde la Carcel. Hondarrabia: Hiru Argitaletxea, 1995.
—.Diez Años se Tortura y Democracia. Hondarrabia: Eva Forest, 1987.
Proceso al Jurado?: Conversaciones con Miguel Castells. Hondarrabia: Hiru Argitaletxea, 1997.
Moraza, Lurdes, and Mertxe Basterra. La Columna infame. Tafalla, Navarra: Txalaparta, 1994.
Senideak. “Informe anual, 1997,” Euskal Herria, January 1998.
—.“La Politica de dispersion Penitenciaria vulnera los Derechos Humanos,” Euskal Herria, November 1997.
TAT—Group Against Torture in the Basque Country. Report on torture, with appendixes, November 1997.
BASQUE HISTORY
Aguirre, José Antonio. Escape via Berlin: Eluding Franco in Hitler’s Europe. Reno and Las Vegas: University of Nevada Press, 1991.
—.De Guernica a Nueva York pasando por Berlin. St.-Jean-de-Luz: Editorial Axular, 1976. (There are interesting differences between the European and the American editions.)
Altube, Gregorio. El Excelentimo Señor: D. Xabier Maria de Munibe, Conde de Peñaflorida. San Sebastián: Nueva Editorial, 1932.
Anasagasti, Iñaki, ed. Conversaciones sobre Antonio Aguirre. Bilbao: Idatz Ekintza, 1983. (Interviews with those who knew the lehendakari.)
Arrinda Albishu, Anastasio. Los Vascos de la Caida de Roma al Cristianismo: S V-X. Bilbao: Instituto Labayru, 1997.
Bard, Rachel. Navarra: The Durable Kingdom. Reno and Las Vegas: University of Nevada Press, 1982.
Baroja, Serafin. Crónica de la Guerra Carlista: Enero y Febrero de 1876. San Sebastián: Editorial Txertoa, 1986. (Pío Baroja’s father, a war correspondent, describes a brutal winter in the Second Carlist War.)
Bost, Jean, Gilbert Desport, Mikel Epalza, Jean-Pierre Espilondo, Guy Lalanne, Charles Martin-Ochoade Alda, Raymond Paget, Georges Pialloux, and Monique Salaber. Saint-Jean-de-Luz. Vol 1. Ekaina, 1992.
Caro Baroja, Julio. Las Brujas y su Mundo. Madrid, 1961.
—.Brujeria Vasca. San Sebastián: Editorial Txertoa, 1992. (By the great Basque ethnologist, nephew of Pío.)
Charpentier, Louis. Le Mystère Basque. Paris: Robert Laffont, 1975. (Proof that even the wildest speculation about the Basques never f
ades from fashion.)
Collins, Roger. The Basques. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1986. (Ancient Basque history up to the sixteenth century.)
Cuzacq, René. Histoire du béret Basque. Mont-de-Marsan: Editions Jean-Lacoste, 1985.
Ernaroa. La Siderurgia Vasca: De la ferrería a la fábrica y a las modernas acerías. Revista de historia de Euskal Herria, no. 12. Bilbao, 1985.
Estévez, Xosé. Historia de Euskal Herria. Vol. 2, Del Hierro al Roble. Tafalla, Navarra: Txalaparta, 1997.
Fundacion BBV. La Real Sociedad Bascongada y América. Bilbao, 1992.
Garate Ojanguren, Montserrat. La Real Compañia Guipuzcoana de Caracas. San Sebastián: Sociedad Guipúzcoana de Ediciones y Publicaciones, 1990.
Garcia de Cortázar, Fernando and José M. Lorenzo Espinosa. Historia del País Vasco. San Sebastián: Editorial Txertoa, 1996.
Glas, Eduardo Jorge. Bilbao’s Modern Business Elite. Reno and Las Vegas: University of Nevada Press, 1996.
Henningsen, Gustav. The Witches’ Advocate: Basque Witchcraft and the Spanish Inquisition. Reno and Las Vegas: University of Nevada Press, 1980.
Jiménez de Aberasturi, Juan Carlos. En passant La Bidassoa: Le Réseau “Comète” au Pays Basque (1941-1944). Biarritz: J & D Editions, 1996.
Jimeno Jurío, José María. Donde Fue La Batalla “De Roncesvalles?”
Pamplona: Diputación Foral de Navarra, 1974. —.Navarra: Historía del Euskera. Tafalla, Navarra: Txalaparta, 1997.
Lamant-Duhart, Hubért. Saint-Jean-de-Luz: Histoire d’une cité Corsaire. St.-Jean-de-Luz, Ekoldia, 1992.
Larronde, Jean-Claude. Le Bataillon Gernika: Les Combats de la Pointe-de-Grave (April 1945).
Lorenzo Espinosa, José María. Historia de Euskal Herria. Vol. 3, El Nacimiento de una nación. Tafalla, Navarra: Txalaparta, 1997.
Montero, Manuel. Cronicas de Bilbao y Vizcaya: Vol. 1, El Progreso de Bilbao: Los Lugares y las fiestas. Vol. 2, Acontecimientos decisivos en la historia del País Vasco. Vol. 3, Vida cotidiana en los Siglos XIX y XX. Vol. 4, Los Negocios de Bilbao. San Sebastián: Editorial Tkertoa, 1997.
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