The Basques in Rizal’s fictional town of San Diego

By Jose Sison Luzadas, KGOR

Delray Beach, FL

Ignatius LOYOLA, Francis XAVIER, Andres URDANETA, Simon BOLIVAR, Juan Sebastian ELCANO, Joseph Maurice RAVEL and last but not the least Saturnino IBARRAMENDIA are people you may or may not know personally but are familiar names in your readings of history, literature, current events and world affairs.

The last one included though a fictional character from the NOLI ME TANGERE are all Basques or who traced their ancestry from the four Basque provinces in northern Spain and three Basque regions in France.

Rizal’s admiration of hardworking, industrious Basque people introduced his readers to meet the ancestors of Crisostomo Ibarra. The original name Ibarramendia was shortened to Ibarra by Saturnino Ibarra, Crisostomo’s great grandfather. He first settled in San Diego using his jewelry and clothes bartering with people who settled earlier and also claimed to be owners of that piece of property located in the forested area of San Diego . Later he committed suicide by hanging himself in the balete tree.

Most of us who have read the NOLI and tried to connect it to the FILI, are introduced to a young man who was sent to Spain by his father to further his education. He returned home after seven years bringing with him “radical” ideas that shocked “establishment” especially the Catholic Church that it will led to disturbing the status quo and bring the natives to know the blessings of education. Our man, Crisostomo who traced his Basque roots displayed himself as one who advocated the need for education, a requisite for the citizens in a free and independent Philippines .

The man we know as Crisostomo became Simoun in the FILI who would love to create chaos among the native Indios so he can launch “revolution” for an independent Filipinas! It ended in dismal failure.

The blood of Crisostomo Ibarra stands for Basque bravery and determination to be free from Espana and so are the many Basques Separatists TODAY who like their forbears countless decades are still clamoring for an independent homeland uniting the four Basque regional provinces in Spain and three from France to constitute one independent Basque Nation.

Unknown to the rest of the world because of their language and mysterious origin as people, their determination for an independent homeland with common aspiration, history, culture, language is keeping their will to survive.