Boise may seem like another American city, but here everything is different
"Little boxes on the hillside / little boxes all the same". Malvina Reynolds sang in 1962 to those houses, all different but the same, that formed the structure of the suburbs of the great American cities. A mathematical order for a supposedly full and structured life as a result of a great economic effervescence and reflected in postcards of Norman Rockwell.
Reynolds, like Rockwell, he used irony to shake consciences to the rhythm of an innocent and childish melody. “And they all look just the same...”, all the same, ordered. Families who lived and live in young cities, built almost in the Fordist style, creating urban centers from nothing to support the industries of the moment: mining, ranching, agriculture (oh, the famous Idaho potatoes)...
Details of The Cyrus Jacobs-Uberuaga House
But among all those cities, drawn with square and bevel, with its malls, its Downtown, its Main Street and its Broadway Avenue, there are places that were written with a unique history and they have grown and evolved with a strong and particular DNA. There are even some with a Basque character. Like Boise.
To understand Boise, capital of the state of Idaho, you have to travel to Biscay at the beginning of the 20th century, when hundreds of families began a diaspora across the Atlantic in search of work and carried away by that gold rush that turned California into the eye of the hurricane.
Beyond that gold that enriched everyone (except the miners who stole it), Idaho generated a knock-on effect through word of mouth from Basque neighbors: there was work here , such as grazing and the lumber industry, and future. For this reason, today, when we walk through Downtown Boise , the historic center, we ran into two layaks (replicas of farming implements) that open the fictitious doors of the Basque Block , a territory where ikurriñas wave.
here they were the five inns where the shepherds lived at the end of the season , and who helped the newcomers with hot food, bed, language and even pediment (a covered one that is still used to play ball and which was built in 1914 by the Anduiza family).
Covered pediment in the Basque Boarding House of the Anduiza family built in 1914
These inns functioned as a home away from home and as cultural greenhouses (Basque songs, games and traditions were kept alive within its walls).
Today it remains as it was then The Cyrus Jacobs-Uberuaga House , built in 1864 and originally owned by one of the first Basque families to settle in Idaho, the Uberuagas . We visited accompanied by Patty Miller , the director of Basque Museum & Cultural Center , a museum and ethnographic house that collects the stories of those who came to Boise more than a century ago.
The wood creaks as we discover chests, suitcases, doublets, blankets... “It is the house of many Basque stories; 95% of the inhabitants of Idaho can draw a line towards our origins that would take us to Bizkaia...”.
Patty is the perfect example of a Boise neighbor. Her grandfather arrived from the Basque Country at the age of 16 and, shortly after starting to work, her great-uncle followed him.
Short Basque pelota racket
It helped them establish Bonifacio Garmendia , who compiled all the knowledge of American laws and the functioning of the city to help the Basques who came to this corner of Idaho (in exchange for a few coins, of course). The numerous photographs from his office are now on the walls of the museum.
Patty is a sort of guardian of Boise's Basque memory. She has commissioned countless exhibitions. One of them seeks to capture the history of 100 Basque men and women over 100 years old in 100 photographs and testimonies... but she has realized that a hundred is not enough. Not in vain, every five years Boise's biggest event (and the largest celebration of Basque tradition in the world) is held, the Jaialdi festival (from July 28 to August 2, 2020 at various locations in the city), which unleashes Basque history with dancing, sports, cooking...
Boise, in addition to spurring residents here and there with the preservation of Basque history, also does warming stomachs. Thus, we come across a temple of viands, The Basque Market , where you will find everything from cured meats from Pamplona to oils from Jaén and wines from La Rioja; or the Guernica Bar , whose star drink (so exotic in these parts) is the kalimotxo.
To set foot in this neighborhood is to do it, literally, on Basque history. We can walk on one of the dozens of cultural works that populate the streets, such as the 500 Basque surnames of local families engraved in front of the museum or the mural on South Capitol Boulevard, full of Basque iconography in which Picasso's Guernica can be glimpsed , references to the Oinkari dance, the oak that survived the bombing of Guernica , a portrait of Juanita Uberuaga, another of Jim Jausoro (an American accordionist raised in a Basque family who died in Boise)... A pastiche of Basque-American culture and a symbol of the brotherhood between the town of Guernica and Boise in 1993.
Bar Gernika at the entrance of The Basque Block
boise dedicates 1% of their budgets to create art and display it on their streets. Here it happens like when we walk through the forest and we fix our eyes to realize the great anthill that we have at our feet: those tireless beings are the works of artists that plague the city , like the boxes of all the traffic lights that show murals by local artists within the initiative Traffic Box Art Collection.
In the Basque Block rests a building with Egyptian motifs that breaks with our Basque reverie: The Egyptian Theater , build in 1927 after the boom of the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb five years earlier. The first work performed on their boards was Don Juan. Today, it remains a cultural icon. Not in vain, the actor Aaron Paul presented here a chapter of breaking bad (series in which he played Jesse Pinkman) in addition to the recent film The way.
The actor was not born in Boise but he was raised here , in fact, he bought a house on the street of the great mansions of the city, Warm Springs Avenue . The pride of the city for this Favorite Son is such that the Governor of the State proclaimed October 1 as National Aaron Paul Day in Idaho.
All the traffic lights in Boise boast 'street art', like this one from the Basque Block with some dantzaris
In addition, they dedicated a large graffiti, breaking boise , which floods one of the walls of Freak Alley Gallery , a small labyrinth of alleys full of street art to the brim, and a must-see to understand how the urban life of the city breathes.
Jimmy Hendrix portraits, Pink Floyd tributes, political messages calling for an end to hate, racism and xenophobia , as well as abstract creations that plunge us into a magnificent world of color... and all this, behind the restaurants where all the residents of the city gather at sunset. Because in Boise the street is lived. And a lot.
8th Street following up Bannock is a hive of neighbors sharing toasts and ordering fries with whatever (we repeat: potatoes in Idaho are from another planet), but also pizzas in foot-hole , gargantuan breakfasts in forks , modern kitchen in juniper , a tequila in Bullfighter, a sandwich on the terrace Even Stevens overlooking the 'Freak' alley or 10 Barrel Brewing Boise for the brewers.
The inhabitants of these 'little boxes' know how to have a good time. A little further south, in The Grove Plaza , they tell us that every Wednesday in the summer concerts are held in the cycle called Alive After Five , the realization that in Boise they do know how to enjoy its streets and the night.
The STIL Ice Cream Parlor in BoDo
Advancing along the path of art we will arrive at a large esplanade dotted with tractors. Behind, a modern building of glass and colors greets us: JUMP (Jack's Urban Meeting Place) is a space for the exchange of ideas that was the epicenter of the commercial development of the city.
JUMP is the story of an American entrepreneur, jack simplot , who got rich dehydrating potatoes and sending them to the front lines during World War II (we're now beginning to understand the John Deere moment of the post). When he died, he left as a legacy a large building and numerous agricultural machinery that the community of neighbors decided to turn into a place for conversation and meeting.
JUMP is the boundary of the area known as BoDo, that is, Boise Downtown, and a sort of SoHo Idaho style, streets full of old grocery stores now converted into large spaces for enjoyment and innovation. The height of the hype in the area may be the ice cream parlor The STIL , in which your licks will harmonize with wines, specialty coffees and craft beers from the area.
The evil tongues say that an area becomes gentrified when new neighbors show up walking their greyhounds, drinking filter coffee and looking for craft breweries. We dare to add a guitarist who sings the song Wicked Game by Chris Isaak.
Slow specialty coffee shop by Slow Coffee Bar
smells like grain freshly ground coffee and we satiate our palate with a latte in Slow by Slow . After the sip, we neutralize the furor of the Ethiopia with a Hip Check Ipad by Boise Brewing , one of those breweries that the great BoDo venues have taken advantage of to distill their own beer and serve it in that atmosphere of smell of barley, dripping floors and endless tastings.
** Now we only need the greyhound. And a Basque surname. **
HOW TO GET
American Airlines
Operates a daily flight from Madrid to the Dallas/Fort Worth airport until September 7 (if you fly before March 27 you can do so aboard the impressive Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, with large adjustable LED windows and chromotherapy to reduce the effects of jet lag). As of September 8, two daily flights will be scheduled. Dallas/FortWorth-Boise available with American Airlines on three daily flights.
WHERE TO SLEEP
The Grove Hotel (245 S Capitol Blvd)
spacious rooms, full length windows to view the city from any room and a mandatory breakfast at the Trillium restaurant. Ask for your Eggs & Avocado toast with pico de gallo.
If you're in a hurry, go to the Coffee Bar in the lobby and ask for your filter coffee (from Seattle roaster Caffe D’arte) and artisan pastries to go.
WHERE TO EAT
Goldy's Breakfast Bistro (108 S. Capitol Blvd)
A large velvety curtain hides two plants of delicious tribute to the authentic American Breakfast. The house potatoes and eggs benedict are the perfect combo to start the day at the Basque Block.
juniper (211 N 8th St)
Grab a seat on the terrace, try their Pork Belly Fries and finish with a cocktail like Idaho Sour with Bourbon and red wine.
Eggs and Avocado toast with pico de gallo at Trillium restaurant
Rockies Diner (3900 W Overland Rd)
Elvis rides a large chopper that flies over the premises; the waitresses, on roller skates, serve the tables skidding with big burgers and sandwiches on their trays. This is America.
Expedition Coffee
This itinerant bicycle cart is everything you need to recharge with their specialty coffee and cold brews . You'll find it?
WHAT TO SEE
The Peregrine Fund's World Center For Birds of Prey
Impressive work of conservation, study and recovery of birds of prey with projects all over the world. and the opportunity to see, up close, one of the great symbols of the country, the American eagle or Bald Eagle.
Table Rock
the perfect lookout to catch a glimpse of the Owyhee Mountains and the entire city of Boise as the sun goes down.
*This report was published in the number 136 of the Condé Nast Traveler Magazine (February). Subscribe to the printed edition (11 printed issues and a digital version for €24.75, by calling 902 53 55 57 or from our website). The February issue of Condé Nast Traveler is available in ** its digital version to enjoy it on your preferred device. **
Sky, the bald eagle from The Peregrine Fund, a bird study and recovery center