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It’s one thing to watch the Torches from the Pyrenees on video. It’s another to witness the spectacle in person.
Before the Festival, human towers seemed to me to be like Marmite on toast, something that you had to grow up experiencing to enjoy.
When people play sports at the frontoia, the community comes together. As the center of cultural life in the Basque country, the frontoia (pilota handball court) is a place not only to watch games but to participate.
Every time there was a rural sports demonstration at the Folklife Festival’s Frontoia, or Basque handball court, you could hear cheers of “aupa neskak!”—let’s go, girls!
Basque sports are an integral part of Basque identity. Springing from the traditional activities of day-to-day farming and fishing life, the competitive nature of Basque people created a series of unique sports that test strength, speed, and endurance.