In honor to aita (Jon Franco) / Aitaren (Jon Franco) omenez

 It has been a year since my aita (dad) passed away and I just wanted to take a moment to remember how he is also a part of this project. I would not be so passionate about minority languages if it wasn't for him and my mom.

Aita raising the ikurriña (California, 1989-93)

They are both descendants of Basque speakers, but none of them acquired it at home. They both took classes as adults while working full time, but only my mom finished all the courses. Either way, my aita has always been extremely proud to be Basque and has always transmitted his love for folklore and the language. He loved debating about language variation and identities, and I know for sure that hearing both my parents talk about these topics is what made me want to "differentiate" and get involved in the Basque world.

Ama and Aita sailing (California, 1989-93)

He used to say (maybe as a joke) that my parents came back from the US to the Basque Country so that my brother and I would not call him "daddy" but "aita". It always made me laugh. We also were not allowed to call him "papá" ("dad" in Spanish), so whenever I wanted to tease him, I would call him that. Eventually, when strangers asked me in Spanish where my dad was, I developed the answer "No tengo papá" (I don't have a dad), because what I had was an "aita". It scared more than one lady.

Aita, my brother, and me (Basque Country, ~2006)

In short, thank you for all your wisdom and all your love.

Beti bihotzean,
[Always in (my) heart,]

Antxoilla
[Little anchovy, nickname based on our sea culture]