“The mere fact of our speaking Basque in public was an act of defiance…As children, it was instilled in us that we were the keepers of Euskara, and that to keep it, to protect it, was to speak it.”

Amaia Gabantxo (ah-my-yah gah-bahn-choh)

writer, a flamenco singer, translator

IMAGE SOURCE: Savannah Eadens. “Translators' group brings international literature to Chicago.” Chicago Tribune. 27 Jun. 2018. | TEXT SOURCE: Katrine Øgaard Jensen. “The Translator Relay: Amaia Gabantxo.” euskalkultura.eus. 26 Nov. 2015.

IMAGE SOURCE: Savannah Eadens. “Translators' group brings international literature to Chicago.” Chicago Tribune. 27 Jun. 2018. | TEXT SOURCE: Katrine Øgaard Jensen. “The Translator Relay: Amaia Gabantxo.” euskalkultura.eus. 26 Nov. 2015.

QUOTE CONTEXT: “Spain was barely awakening from the nightmare of Francoism as I was growing up. ETA was in full swing, and the policies the dictator had put in place to oppress and disappear the Basque language were still in effect.”

QUOTE QUESTION: What are the ways you keep and protect your mother tongue?


IMAGE CONTEXT: “If we could fill the shelves of bookstores in the U.S. with books that are translations from other parts of the world, we would develop our own understanding of how stories from different people are linked through humanity, and often echo one another.”

IMAGE QUESTION: What words do you stand to recite?


MEDIA LITERACY CONTEXT: The quote is from a website devoted to Basque heritage. The photo is from a city newspaper.

MEDIA LITERACY QUESTION: How do you decide which media channels are best suited to support the enduring lives of your People?


LEARN ABOUT THE BASQUES: https://www.eke.eus/en/basque-cultural-institute/about-us

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“We are a people who resist fascism in all its forms; whose creative spirit is born from a multitude of voices, not just one; who were once in need of shelter so now offer it to others.”

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“Maybe Basque language will not be saved with a state, but without a state for sure it will be lost.”