Eusko Alkartasuna de São Paulo

Eusko Alkartasuna was founded in São Paulo in the fifties and is the oldest Basque centre in Brazil still active. Until 2009 it was also the only one in the country recognised by the Basque Government. Its headquarters, Gernika Kutun, was paid for by many hands: the deed was signed on 9 December 1959, and the 400,000 cruzeiros it cost came from the contributions of more than fifty Basques, 50,000 cruzeiros from Bilbao industry and a loan of 100,000 from José María Sanz Navarro. Fifty years later, in 2009, the centre marked that deed with a tribute to its 56 founding members, six of whom were still alive. The Basque Government recognised it on 18 June 1996, and in 2005 it hosted the world's first Basque course taught in Portuguese. It also promoted a twinning between Guarani children from Tekoa Pyau, in São Paulo, and the Basque town of Itsasondo.