As a newbie to the Oinkaris I haven’t had the chance to perform very much, but the few I have danced in have been very memorable! My favorite performance I’ve done so far was the Homedale dance. The whole group met up at the Basque Center and rode a school bus to Homedale. As soon as we arrived to the small dusty stadium I could already tell it was going to be a fun night! After all of us got suited up to dance, we first got to watch the little kids from Homedale do their dance which was adorable and interesting to see their French Basque outfits for the girls. As soon as they were finished it was our turn to perform, I got to dance in Ikurriña and Oinkari. After our performance finished up, we got to change into something more suitable for the stadium. As soon as I was properly dressed, a group of kids and myself hopped in the back up a pickup truck and drove to the Idaho Pizza Company to get food. When we finished up eating we headed back to the stadium to dance for the rest of the night. The whole night I was requesting certain dances and songs such as Shalala, Txapelue, and Borobilla; It was so much fun! Everyone got involved and had a great time. The biggest hit that I requested though, was Shalala because most people, such as myself, recognized it from being in the Txikituaks. Those who didn’t know Shalala easily caught along to the lyrics of the song, and even incorporated their own little shower dance of their own. During one of the dances I decided to explore the arena to see if I could find anything interesting. I ended up finding an old rusty mini bike and rode it into where everyone was dancing and got quite the laugh from everyone. Many other people then started to attempt and ride it as well. Unfortunately, the bike’s chain started to fall off, but was luckily repaired by Kirk Mendive’s nifty work. When I eventually got tired of dancing and messing around, I decided to sit down, eat a chorizo, and talk with some of the funny older members who were reminiscing about their Oinkari adventures. As fun as the night was, it eventually became time to go home. I expected the bus ride home to be quiet and boring. I thought everyone would be too tired to do anything, but boy was I wrong. We had a loud speaker playing music and everyone was singing and dancing to songs such as Bailando, American Pie, and Gin and Juice all the way back to Boise. The whole night was so much fun and was a great way for me to make new friends within the group. It was definitely a night I will never forget!
Check out some pictures from the night here!
Elena Urresti Kuehl
Oinkari Basque Dancer
