Kashpar

Joe "Kashpar" Eiguren was raised in the Basque Country during very difficult times. During his childhood he experienced the dictatorship of King Alfonso XII, who persecuted Basque (as many Spanish leaders had done before and did afterward as well). Joe felt strongly about the Basque cause, and when he came to the United States in 1934 it remained very much part of his life. And he continued to fight totalitarianism by serving in combat in the American army in World War II. After the war, together with Pete Cenarrusa and Pat Bieter, Joe advocated for the Basques, and supported Basque freedom and independence. Joe, though never formally educated, loved to write when he found something of interest to him. That was how he began writing Kashpar. Joe was very knowledgeable about Basque history, the Basque language, and Basque politics as well as a terrific storyteller. He belonged to a generation of the Basque immigrants who were very fluent in the Basque language and had undergone the political and socioeconomic crises provoked by long-lasting dictatorships in his homeland. Here, in his own words, Joe writes about leaving his home, coming to a foreign land, making a full life, serving his new country selflessly, and becoming a community leader and energetic promoter of Basque culture.