Earlier, we’ve featured this Fidel mural in the Basque Country. Now, here’s a pair of (not that Basque related) murals in Havana – a few doves with Cuban flags above and a cat next to a lamp below. However, the connections between Cuba and the Basque Country go way back. For instance, there were Basque crew members on Christopher Columbus’s first expedition to Cuba. And there are even theories about Basque fishermen reaching America before that – read more about that in Mark Kurlansky’s books Cod and The Basque History of the World.
One of the most prominent Basque writers, Joseba Sarrionandia, probably lives in Cuba. In 1980, Sarrionandia was convicted for being an ETA member and sentenced to prison. Five years later, he escaped and since then he’s been living and working at a secret location, most likely in Cuba.
Finally, a mural with the text amor cuerdo no es amor, ‘sane love is not love’, and a portrait of Che Guevara behind a few rubbish containers. The surname Guevara is of Basque origin, from the village Gebara in the province Araba / Álava. Its meaning is uncertain, and some have suggested that it derives from an Indo-European loanword (either Greek or Gothic).
Basque murals 