BOISE, Idaho — Boise features the largest Basque population in the United States and every year they showcase their culture during San Inazio, a celebration of St. Ignatius, the patron saint of the Basque people.
This weekend will be hopping at the Basque Block in Downtown Boise as music, dancing, food, history and sport all come together.
We checked out a game called pala that resembled racquetball played with wooden paddles on a much larger court, it's one of the variations of pelota.
A game lasts until one team gets 35 points and by the end all the players on the floor had worked up a sweat in this fast paced game.
"It’s a fun game, I’ve been playing it since I was five or six in San Francisco," said John Falxa. "We are just trying to keep the tradition going and get the youth to keep on playing."
Every Basque village has one of these courts, but there are only about five or six in the United States. The game started in the 1500s and really started taking off resembling the game we watched in the 19th century.
"It is really important a lot of the festivities start with handball or pala games," said Falxa who was victorious. "I’m more than happy to play here, there's very welcoming people and we love coming here."
Outside the Basque Block featured old time wagons from the sheepherding days of the past, music and Boiseko Gazteak Basque Dancers as culture gets passed down to the next generation through song and dance.
"It's so cool the kids are just adorable and so talented," said Dona Garland. "They really put in a lot of effort and it is just really exciting."
Dona Garland experienced Basque culture for the first time as she showed up an hour early to be the first in line for palella, she tells us the wait was worth it.
"I got to see famous Tony making the palella so I saw every step of the way and now I want to get home and try it myself," said Garland. "It’s absolutely to die for so you got to come out and try it yourself."
The San Inazio Festival will be rocking with a street dance at 8:00 p.m. The festivities continue on Sunday with more sports, dancers and another street dance to end the celebration.
