anasagasti

A Basque Patriot in New York traces the incredible journey of a young jelkide (Basque Nationalist Party activist and patriot) from Victoria-Gasteiz. Born to a nationalist family in the Araban capital and a staunch nationalist from a very young age the book follows Jose Luis de la Lombana through education in Madrid resistance and incarceration in Victoria-Gasteiz at the time of the military coup that turned into the Civil War of 1936 escape to France activism in Barcelona- where he served as the editor of the Basque nationalist daily Euzkadi- in support of the Basque government-in-exile and the nexile. Among others Lombana was chosen to attend the Second World youth Congress held in New York in 1938. During his time of activism in the United States Lombana made many observations about the US society and about Basque nationalism and its conflicts and struggles to reach and make inroads into US and US Basque and Basque-Catholic communities which make his testimony and story an indispensable read for understanding of theis extraordinarily complex and tumultuous period both in the United States and around the world.