Gloria Totoricagüena: "One of the controversial issues inside several Basque organizations regards the definition and practice of what it means to be Basque"

What does the Center for Basque Studies do?

Many people do not know what we do or they don’t understand. We teach, we research, and we publish. But because we have a 40 year history, and because for 40 years we have helped with so many different things, people know to call us. We get requests for translations all the time. We get requests for people looking for their family members, people looking for music, certain research, requests to be guest speakers, requests to participate in conferences, offers to come give a speech at an academic event. Most people work hard at whatever their job is. Our job is always intense and always dynamic. We have 4 professors, and we get the 5th one next year. Everyday is completely different than the day before in the kinds of questions and the kinds of content about which we have to be ready to answer or find the answer to. We joke, “everyday is Christmas,” and we never know what the questions are going to be like or what people will need.

You have been Director of the Center for Basque Studies for nearly 2 years now. What are some of the major changes you have seen happen during your directorship?

Area of Publication
We have an entire publication agenda that is new. We now publish 7 different book series such as Basque literature in translation, diaspora and migration studies, Basque classics, textbooks, occasional papers, etc. We started in the last 5 years under the Directorship of Joseba Zulaika with the major initiative. We had not yet designated areas of prioritization and we thought we had to take a time out. We made a production calendar and looked at which books we really need in English. We’ve already got 10 books in English about Basque nationalism…do we really need another one? But we don’t have a single book in English on Basque art. . So we made the art a priority. We are trying to be more selective and prioritizing exactly what we think is needed in the English-speaking world for information on the Basques.

PhD Program
We are really focusing on tightening up the PhD a little bit. It’s a really difficult PhD because it’s a “tutorial PhD” and students have to be completely self-motivated. We don’t have all of the courses for it in Basque studies. The students have to take courses from the other departments as well, and also have to meet the requirements of the other departments. It’s all their own research; they have to do all the work. So students who are not highly self-motivated might have a difficult time. The PhD program is really intense and the expectations are very high. We didn’t have a lot of mechanisms to help them get through it, so we have also revisited how the PhD works. We need to help them more by teaching them about budgeting their time and help them budget their money. Plus many of them are foreigners and they don’t understand how the US system works anyway. We have revamped the PhD program as well. Dr. Sandra Ott is our Graduate Student Advisor.

Relations with Institutions of the Basque Country and Outreach Programs
We have increased and improved relations with Eusko Ikaskuntza, Euskaltzaindia, with various universities in the Basque Country and others around the world interested in Basque studies. We've also done more networking and just let people know and encourage them to “look what we have.” But in the end there are only 5 professors and two staff. We have to be really careful about adding new projects and programs we want because it opens up a whole new world of work for us yet it doesn’t take anything else away. In the end, we are incredibly productive, thanks to everyone’s work. We are teaching our regular classes, we are researching our projects, we are present at conferences, we get papers published in journals, and we have to get books published. On top of that, we have what’s called an outreach component: NABO, the local community, the Rotary Clubs, etc. There must be at least 15 presentations annually that we make that don’t have anything to do with UNR between the 4 current professors. i.e., an organization needs a presentation on the Basques here, someone else wants something on dance, or anthropology, or language. Then every day we have emails that come in, the telephones calls, the people that come in. Between the 4 professors and Kate Camino (our office manager), and Jill Berner (who does the publications and newsletterr) – every single day there have to be a least 10 requests for information that have nothing to do with UNR or our students. We really do serve a public function of educating all kinds of people and respond to all sorts of requests.

What is WICHE and how is it possible that students attending universities that do not offer a Basque Studies program will be able to minor in Basque Studies?

WICHE stands for “Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education” which is a regional organization created by the Western Regional Education Compact, adopted in the 1950s by Western states. WICHE was created to facilitate resource sharing among the higher education systems of the West. That is going to be wonderful because it encourages students for our Basque Studies minor and we already have the courses online; it’s a lot more work for us because we are used to having 6 or 7 students per course while others are really big. Some of them have 40 already so we’ll be able to cap it; the first 30 who register will get in. More importantly than that, is that it’s promoting Basque studies everywhere. All these people will have access to each of these courses, even if they want 1 course or 2 courses or the whole minor. Then once somebody has done the minor, maybe they’ll continue on and they’ll include Basque studies in their major or in their senior project, or perhaps they might want to do a masters degree in Basque Studies. It’s to plant the seed from the very beginning when it’s at a low level; there isn’t a lot of risk involved in doing a minor. If they go on the USAC program, and go to the Basque Country, all of those credits count towards that minor, such as an Euskara course - that counts. And it’s all online. They can do it at midnight if they want to.

What have you found to be the most challenging as director?

As director I am responsible for the academics, finances, the administration, communications with the advisory board, the outreach, encouraging people to make donations to the CBS. I attend all the meetings of the Chairs of departments with the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts. I go from meeting to meeting. I try to answer every email I get within about 3 days but at certain times of the year I receive from 175 to 200 emails a day. Even on Saturdays and Sundays I have 50-75 work related emails. My biggest challenge is keeping myself organized.

I understand that the 70th anniversary of the bombing of Gernika was commemorated in Reno, Nevada. How was the turn out and what was the reaction of those who attended? Do you think most Basque Americans are aware of their history?

About 100 people came to a dinner and movie presentation organized by Mary Lou Urrutia and the Reno Zazpiak Bat Basque Club. Many were older people who already knew about Gernika; lots of Vizcainos. There were also people that didn’t know anything and were shocked. When the video “Mark of Man” finished, there was absolute silence. Then everybody clapped really loudly. It was clear that there was an impact from that video. It also made some people realize that they don’t really know much about their own history and they are embarrassed,.. Several people said that they didn’t know anything about Gernika, “I didn’t really know what the bombing of Gernika meant”. Well now they know and they know that they don’t know enough. So get on the Internet, go to the library, and find the information. Start asking questions. I couldn’t believe the turnout, I expected about 40 people so I was very pleased. Certain events will always have big turnouts because they’re easy and fun for the participants. It’s easy to be Basque if you do not have to do anything. All you’re asked to do is go and eat and drink and listen to the music, and you don’t even have to dance. Something that I do see as problematic is fewer and fewer people are dancing at the events. It’s not that they don’t know the dances, it’s that they choose not to do it. So the younger kids are seeing that too.

Switching gears a bit, the US recently acquired a fellow Basque as Lieutenant Governor of California. How do you think John Garamendi has affected the Basques in the US?

I think it makes people feel really proud, you know, “one of us has made it.” Even if they don’t know him and even if they are not a Democrat. In the research that I have done on Basques in the United States, I have asked those (Basques), what is your political party and have you ever voted for a Basque even if they’re from the opposite party? They do. They cross party lines to vote for a Basque. Being Basque is more important than the party affiliation. I would imagine that in California many Basques who are normally Republican, voted for him. I think they are just proud of him. What it does for some people psychologically is to influence their perceptions, “Okay, if one of us, a Basque, can rise to be Lieutenant Governor of California, that’s a huge step for all of us.” The positive social status that it gives to Basques is really important. Even if Garamendi hasn’t been involved much with the Basque communities, he always says that he is Basque. He identifies himself as a Basque and that is significant. In the last 2000 census, there were about 67,000 people that wrote into the census that they were Basque and in California there are approximately 21,000. It may or may not make a difference in the election. I don’t think Garamendi’s election would necessarily influence anyone who is a Basque American, who was not previously active in their community, and actually influence them to actively be Basque for any reason. But there is an emotional, psychological kind of sense of accomplishment. “He made it! He’s one of us. I am a part of that success.” They get into the coat tails of that success, and that’s good for Basques.

What are your thoughts on the Basque delegation coming to New York?

I love it, I am so happy about that. That is something that has been talked about by Basque Government officials and Emilia Doyaga in New York for years. She started bringing this up at the 1995 Basque World Congress twelve years ago. She stood up and gave her speech, the same speech that she gives all the time and that has finally been successful. She said, “New York is the best place. If you want to get a message out to the world, you have something happen in New York and it’s covered everywhere and people pay attention.” And I think she is right. So that delegation there will start as a small office, but they will have some kind of cultural activity, media, positive image, content. Instead of always reacting to negative media, they will be creating the projects and getting the information out to the international media about all of the positive things in Euskal Herria. In the long run, if done well and with a long-range plan, they will get the priorities down, increase media, government relations, economic relations, cultural and academic aspects maybe, or not, but at least culturally maybe, get those set and then build on top of that slowly, one program at a time. I think it will make a big difference. I have met Aitor Sotes, the USA Delegate, in different settings. He is very intelligent, young, and energetic. I think having a delegation is going to make a difference. Even if it starts as a one man delegation.

Now that we are living in the Golden Age of the Internet, what are your thoughts on EuskoSare?

I think EuskoSare is the tool for getting things done. One advantage to the idea of EuskoSare is that they are not controlling the content or definition of how to “be Basque.” People have to be able to put their own content and meaning into their Basqueness. There is something different for everone. Whoever is interested in a given topic can find it there in EuskoSare and it’s not just a few things, it’s all different kinds of ideas, programs, projects. You can participate as much as you want, or not and just read what others write. So, if being Basque is meaningful to you then you have to decide how you are going to be a Basque. EuskoSare can provide the whole array of sports, cuisine, art, music, and literature. It’s available, take your pick. It does not dictate and say “this” is what it means to be Basque. One of the controversial issues inside several Basque organizations regards the definition and practice of what it means to be Basque, “you must play mus, or, you go to Udaleku," and individual clubs have different activities. EuskoSare can provide serious and quality content on how it is in the Basque Country, and simultaneously what is happening in other parts of the world, like in Uruguay. In Argentina they had grandparents and grandchildren work on a project together. The kids wrote books about their grandparents. What a great idea. The kids get to know their grandparents, and their grandparents can teach them. I think that EuskoSare is that bridge; I really do. Providing access, easy access to anybody who wants to get in there, providing links to other places that have something else. It facilitates everything. It just makes it so much easier in general because it’s all in one place.

More information on Gloria Totoricaguena