The smell of chorizo and roasting peppers. The sound of pil-pil sauce bubbling. The sight of pintxos lined up waiting to be eaten.

Although they were relocated indoors due to the hot summer storm ensuing outside, there couldn’t have been a better venue to hear the rich harmonies of NOKA and Mikel Markez.

Seven Basque American dance troupes performed at the 2016 Folklife Festival from across the American West, including Utah’ko Triskalariak.

In many ways, the 2016 Folklife Festival represented a rallying cry, an alliance, a remarkable display of kinship and respect. Artists, musicians, and performers celebrated their cultural identities

Beautiful landscape, delicious food, and melodious vocals—within this one song, the Biotzetik Basque Choir from Boise, Idaho, encapsulates three of the distinctive features of Basque culture.

Txuleta (T-bone steak) with red pepper represents a long Basque culinary tradition of using the products and animals found in their local landscape to make hearty dishes.

Smiles creep onto the performers’ faces as they catch each other’s eye, their uninhibited joy infecting the crowd.

Picon Punch is an iconic drink to Basque American cuisine, a niche regional specialty in the western United States.

Outside the Basque community, Kalakan is best known for accompanying Madonna on her 2012 MDNA tour. Within their community, they are rock stars in their own right

Talo is a flatbread traditionally made from varieties of stone-milled corn found only in Basque country. It commonly accompanies sarteneko, a traditional Basque skillet dish of farm products such as chorizo, bacon, and eggs.