From time to time, I will be interviewing people in the Basque community, both in the diaspora and in the Basque Country, who make important contributions to Basque culture. These might be historians, new makers, artists, or anyone who is a part of the greater Basque community. The idea is to get their perspectives on Basque culture and maybe introduce more people to the work that they are doing. If anyone would like to recommend someone to be intereviewed, please contact me.

Mikel Morris, Part I Some of you may recognize the name Mikel Morris, as he has written the definitive Basque-English dictionary, the Morris Student Plus. Mikel, born in the United States, has lived in the Basque Country since 1978. As a foreigner who has immersed himself in to Basque culture and Euskara, he has a unique perspective on the language. In this interview, Mikel describes his tribulations in getting his dictionary published, shares his thoughts on the Basque government's policy regarding Euskara, and teases us with hints on his next project, the Morris Magnum, which promises to be the largest bilingual Basque dictionary yet.

Guillermo Zubiaga Guillermo Zubiaga is a graphic artist living in New York, though he was born and grew up in the Basque Country. We met thro ugh my website, when Guillermo contacted me about a link to his site. In this interview, Guillermo describes growing up in post-Franco Euskal Herria, his experiences in the US comic book industry, and his current project about a comic book on the history of Basque whaling.

Pedro Oiarzabal For minority languages and cultures such as Basque, questions of preserving identity are crucial for the long term survival of the culture. However, without a basic understanding of what composes identity, of how identity is expressed, efforts to preserve culture will only be partially successful. Pedro Oiarzabal recently completed his PhD focusing precisely on what it means to be Basque all over the world. In this interview, Pedro shares his thoughts on what role the Internet plays in identity and community.

Xabier Ormaetxea Long time visitors of Buber's Basque Page will recognize Xabier Ormaetxea. He was the driving force behind the Surname Research Project that was such a big part of Buber's Basque Page in the early days. Those surname pages are still among the most popular areas of Buber's Basque Page. However, beyond his great interest in genealogy, Xabier was also a member of the Basque Parliament for nearly 20 years. Here, Xabier describes the work of the Basque Government, why he is so interested in genealogy, and his current work helping orphans in the Ukraine.

Gloria Totoricagüena Dr. Gloria Totoricagüena is an expert in the Basque diaspora. She has written a number of books on the diaspora and the establishment of Basque communities in a number of places. She was recently named Director of the Center for Basque Studies at the University of Nevada, Reno, a post she will hold for the next three years. In this interview, I asked her about growing up Basque, her plans for the Center, and her views on what it means to be Basque and the role that the Basque diaspora has in the future of the Basque Country.

This page is part of Buber's Basque Page and is maintained by Blas Uberuaga. Please report any problems or suggestions to Blas. Eskerrik asko!