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2 comments about A Time We Knew: Images of Yesterday in the Basque Homeland (Basque Series).

1. "A Time We Knew: Images of Yesterday in the Basque Homeland" is the product of a fascinating collaboration between photographer William Albert Allard and the dean of Basque-American literature, Robert Laxalt.

   In the fall of 1967, Allard spent two months in the Basque country of northeastern Spain and southwestern France, capturing with his camera the everyday life of the people who lived there. Although Allard spoke no Basque and was linked to the Basque country only through his Basque wife, his stunning photos evoke the tremendous power of the Basque landscape and people: the haunting flanks of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques at evening; the gloomy mountains of the northern coast of Spain just at the approach of a storm; a rough-hewn woman with a scythe at Behorleguy, on the frontier between youth and age, in whose face is reflected the painful past of the ancient Basque people. From a technical point-of-view, these incredible photographs are so good that they could truly be "images of yesterday": the color is brilliant. Alas, though, "yesterday" in the Basque country is no more. The years since 1967 have seen the heavy industrialization of both the French and Spanish sectors of the Basque homeland and the gradual passing of the ancient ways Allard captures here.

   Laxalt's contribution to this book is his prose vignettes, some of the best of his characteristically exquisite prose-poetry. A second-generation Basque-American whose father grew up in the French Basque country, Laxalt knows the region as well as probably anyone in the United States. While one cannot miss the heavy dose of romanticism in his prose ("Girls slender as reeds walking hand in hand down the lane, singing an ode to spring in soprano voices pure and light as air") and even pastoralism (exacerbated by the fact that the Basques are some of the world's greatest shepherds), it is obvious that Laxalt is a remarkable writer.

   A poetic look at "yesterday" in the Basque country. Get it on your shelf.




2. The Basque people are certainly an interesting race; it is believed that theirs is one of the oldest languages in Europe. Where they came from and how they ended up in northern Spain has been a point of contention between anthropologists for some time. They suffered terribly during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930's; the famous painting by Picasso represents some of the suffering in the Basque city of Guernica. The people of that city had the dubious distinction of being the first in history to have been the victims of the deliberate terror bombing of civilians. The Euskadi Ta Askatasuna or ETA has been engaged in a decade's long struggle to create an independent homeland for the Basque people out of the Basque areas in Spain and France.
   This book is a collection of photos taken in the Basque regions in Spain and France. It is a rugged, yet beautiful land; most of the buildings are very old. While there are some modern devices displayed in the pictures, the majority could have been taken decades ago and some perhaps over a century ago. People are meeting over drinks, coffee and traditional food. Some of the beautiful pictures of the villages in the valleys could have been taken at the turn of the century.
   When people appear in the photo, one thing is clear. The Basques are a very proud people, they have lived on and worked their land for centuries and will continue to do so. Rugged mountains and terrain breeds rugged, hardy people and that certainly describes the Basques. No small set of photographs with associated explanations in a book can truly describe any culture, especially one this old. However, it can both literally and figuratively give you a snapshot and that is done very well in this book.

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1 comments about A Traveler's Highway to Heaven: Exploring the History & Culture of Northern Spain on El Camino de Santiago (History on the Hoof).

1. A Traveler's Highway to Heaven, by William Bonville
   
   For years, there has been a single book illuminating the art, architecture, history and culture along the Camino Frances. The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago: The Complete Cultural Handbook by David Gitlitz & Linda Kay Davidson stood for years as the sole beacon but now we can add a second. Meet William Bonville and his latest work, A Traveler's Highway to Heaven: Exploring the History and Culture of Northern Spain on El Camino de Santiago.
   
   William's work is a shot in the arm for the Camimophiles everywhere. He brings us an interpretive monologue of the art, architecture, history and culture along the Way of Saint James.... a thinking man's impressions of the scene that lies before you. It also includes a number of landmarks just a few kilometers off the main Path. At 400 pages, it's not exactly light, but the type is large enough to read inside a dimly lit church.
   
   Two things which made (my first Camino) a richer Road experience were the (Gilitz and Davidson) cultural guidebook and my conversations with the locals. This book is in that same league, and yes I would carry it in spite of its weight.
   
   ~Grant Spangler
   
   This book has considerable value for those who want to connect history, art, architecture and religion to their experience on the Camino de Santiago. It is intended as a detailed three week guide to driving and walking the Camino de Santiago route from Roncesvalles to Santiago de Compostela. Specific driving directions, including road numbers and significant features, should help the driver to navigate; and walking directions within cities are detailed to give a richly researched highlight tour of important religious and historical sites. Day by day itinerary suggestions attempt to maximize the rich historical, cultural and religious offerings the Camino provides, with a two week modification available. The glossary at the back and references for further reading throughout, make this a wonderful starting point to appreciate the Camino experience.
   
   It is a resource pilgrims will want to read before the pilgrimage in order to better understand the richness of the historical and cultural landscape they will be passing through. Pilgrims who have returned may want to refresh their memory of their Camino by reading about and remembering what they have seen... Reading the book strengthened my resolve to walk the Camino again, but more slowly the next time.
   
   ~ Tom Friesen, Canadian Company of Pilgrims,Spring 2008
   
   A narrative motor/walking guide to the cultural record and history encountered between Roncesvalles and Santiago de Compostela. It also involves side trips into Asturias, plus other less distant diversions from the French Road. The author says he wrote the book for those who, for reasons of time, age, disability or children tagging along, are unable to cope with an 800 kilometer hike, but still yearn for the El Camino experience.
   
   ~ American Pilgrims on the Camino

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