TAPE MINUTE SUMMARY OF CONTENTS
Tape 1
Side 1
0-5:30 Enrique was born in Aulestia, Spain on November 1, 1945. His parents were Francisco Goitiandia and Juliana Lekuona. He began school when he was about 7, finished when he was 14, then went to a liberal arts college. His grade school in Aulestia was about 2 km from his family’s baserri, and there was 1 teacher who taught a mixed-gender class of all grades. The teacher was Spanish, and taught in Spanish; he was an extremely bright man. Growing up, he played a lot with his friends, including hide and seek as well as running up and down the nearby mountains. He describes the types of things he learned in grade school, and praises his teacher’s intelligence. The teacher lived in a house furnished by the town. Enrique’s favorite subject was math.
5:30-11:30 Enrique didn’t have a job outside of the house when he went to primary school, but he did help out on the baserri a lot, planting vegetables and grains and tending to the livestock. Enrique has 7 brothers and sisters, of which he is the youngest; he never went to school with any of them. When he was 14, Enrique went to Markina for college, mainly specializing in industrial arts. He lived in Markina with a family that was paid to house him, and usually biked home every weekend (Markina is only 8 km from Markina). He studied mainly engineering, since he wanted to be a mechanical engineer. While he was there, he worked part time in a factory, building and testing motors/bombs (he was about 15). They tested the bombs at nearby Laga Beach.
11:30-19:00 Enrique never got his diploma from the school in Markina, since he was obliged to leave Markina. The police was after him for his nationalist political tendencies. He had many friends who were arrested, but he managed to leave before he was caught. (His father had been jailed in Santoña when Enrique was a baby, and was almost executed; he never talked about the experience much.). He believes the government was tipped off about his propaganda activities by someone who was supposed to be a friend; many Basques betrayed other Basques to the police, some after being coerced with torture. When he was 19, Enrique was drafted, and it was at that time that the police started searching for him. He wanted to leave the country right away, but had problems getting his documents until he lied to the police. He already had family in America (even his father had made to trips to the US as a sheepherder, starting in 1911).
19-24:00 Enrique came to America in March of 1966. He flew from Bilbao to Lisbon, where he was almost detained by the police, who were angered by his flight from Spain. He actually was detained by immigration officials in New York, who were probably alerted to Enrique’s presence by the Spanish government. Since his papers were in order, however, he was allowed to proceed to Denver, and finally Boise. For about 3 years after Enrique’s departure from Spain, the Spanish police harassed his parents in Aulestia regarding his whereabouts, not believing that he had actually left the country. When he arrived at the Boise airport, his brother Benny brought him to his house on Warm Springs Avenue, where he lived for several months. He began work right away at the Yanke Machine Shop, where he stayed until he went to the army in 1969. He simultaneously took engineering classes at BSU, beginning in 1967. He describes being drafted, including the pact the US had with Spain, whereby a Spanish immigrant who had not served in Spain could be drafted in the US, even though he was not a citizen.
24-30:00 Enrique did not get his citizenship because he was in the army, but had to go through the normal routine, which he completed around Christmas of 1971. He spoke no English when he arrived in America, and remembers learning the language very quickly. Enrique had actually been tested for the draft in 1966, right after he came, but since he didn’t speak English (and didn’t want to be drafted at that time), he failed the test. In 1969, he went from Boise to Seattle, for basic training, then to Fort Polk, Louisiana. He trained to drive a large truck for ammo (mainly firebombs) and supply transport, which he did in Vietnam.
Side 2
0-14:00 Enrique spent about 3 months in Seattle for basic training, then about 9 months in Louisiana. He discussed the problems of adapting to wartime conditions. He always kept up correspondence with his family in the Basque country as well as in Idaho during his 10 months in Vietnam. He remembers his life in wartime, including modifying his truck for safety. He describes hitting a landmine in Cambodia, after which his partner was hospitalized for a while. Enrique continues talking about his experiences in the war; he only failed to deliver one of his 40 shipments (the one that blew up). His machine gunner, John Martinez , and he usually slept under the truck in a hammock. Enrique describes what it felt like to fight for a country he wasn’t a citizen of (he had asked before leaving, but the request was denied). He got his citizenship in Hawaii in December of 1970, while on a brief R&R trip between stints in Vietnam.
14-20:30 Enrique came back to Boise in July of 1971, where he began working for the Yankee Machine Shop again. Soon afterwards, he left for Euskadi with friend Kepa Chertudi, to see his longtime girlfriend, Coro Gil (in Vietnam, he had named his truck “Coro”). He met her for the 1st time in 1964, 2 years before he came to the US, and the 2 wrote to each other frequently. Enrique went to San Sebastian to see her, and the 2 decided to get married. Joseba Chertudi drove him to the wedding, and Enrique helped him get a passport to the US. Enrique and Coro were married in December of 1972, at the San Vicente church. The couple went to Málaga for their honeymoon, and moved back to the US a year later (Coro had no problems getting her travel documents. Enrique didn’t work while in Spain.
20:30-30:00 When Enrique and Coro moved back to the US in 1973, they rented an apartment, where they lived for a while before buying a house, then finally move to their present address in 1987. Upon his arrival in the US, he worked for another machine shop, and became foreman. Twenty-six years ago, he began working for Hewlett Packard, building precision instruments, where he has remained to this day. His daughter Nagore was born in 1974, and his son Iker was born in 1976. The family spoke Basque, Spanish, and English at home, and his children danced with the Oinkaris for a while. Enrique speaks about his involvement with the Boise Basque community. He is a member of the Basque Center, and served on the board as vice president in the late 1980s. He loves to go to Basque picnics, and festivals like Jaialdi. He used to play pala at the Boise fronton, and helped found the Biotzetik Basque choir with his wife in the 1970s. He discusses the choir, which currently has about 50 members. In his spare time, Enrique likes to go fishing and hunting, and he built a cabin near Lowman where he spends nearly every weekend. The 1st 7.5 years he was in the US, he didn’t visit Euskadi, but has returned to visit once every 3 years since his marriage. He usually stays in Coro’s apartment in San Sebastian when he goes. Enrique feels very comfortable in the Basque country, where most of his friends live.
Tape 2
0-4:00 Enrique feels that he is Basque first, but that he has chosen to be a loyal American as well. He doesn’t think he would ever retire in the Basque country, although he plans to visit a lot. He attends St. John’s Cathedral, and sings for services whenever the Biotzetik choir is hired.
NAMES AND PLACES
NAMES:
Lekuona, Juliana: Enrique’s mother
Biotzetik: Boise Basque choir
Chertudi, Joseba: Enrique’s friend
Chertudi, Kepa: Enrique’s friend
Goitiandia, Benedicto: Enrique’s brother
Goitiandia, Coro Gil: Enrique’s wife
Goitiandia, Francisco: Enrique’s father
Goitiandia, Iker: Enrique’s son
Goitiandia, Nagore: Enrique’s daughter
Martinez, John: Enrique’s gunner in Vietnam
Oinkaris: Boise Basque dancers
PLACES:
Santoña: prison where Enrique’s father was held
Aulestia, Spain: Enrique’s birthplace
Basque Center (Boise)
Bilbao, Spain: point of departure from Spain
Boise State University
Boise, ID: Enrique’s hometown
Cambodia
Denver, CO
Fort Polk, LA: town where Enrique trained for Vietnam
Hawaii: place where Enrique got his US citizenship
Laga Beach, Spain
Lisbon, Portugal
Málaga, Spain: place where Enrique and Coro honeymooned
Markina, Spain: town where Enrique went to college
New York: point of entry into US
San Sebastian, Spain: town where Enrique got married
San Vincente: church where Enrique got married
Seattle, WA: city where Enrique finished basic training
St. John’s Cathedral
Vietnam
Yanke Machine shop: employed Enrique
THEMES:
Citizenship
Clubs and Organizations
Education
Immigration
Language
Oppression
Vietnam War
