BOISE, Idaho — A Basque journalist was denied entry to the United States at a German airport over the weekend, preventing him from covering the return of Jaialdi after a ten-year hiatus since the last festival.
The six-day Jaialdi festival, running July 29 through Aug. 3 in Boise, draws tens of thousands of attendees typically every five years. The 2025 celebration marks the first since 2015, after the 2020 festival was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It remains the largest Basque celebration in the U.S.
The event also draws international media seeking to cover the events. EiTB public radio and broadcasting has covered Jaialdi since its first celebration in Boise nearly forty years ago, viewing it as one of the most important gatherings of the Basque-American community…