The Basques of Bridgeport

In the harsh, agglutinized language Basques call Eskualdene, as mysterious in origin as the Eskualdunaks themselves, there is a poem that goes, “On, the jai alai court, the Basque from his youth shows that he has red blood in his veins.” For years, young Basques have exhibited skill and courage—and actual blood—on jai alai courts in Europe, Asia, Latin America and Florida—especially Florida, where there are nine frontons, as jai alai courts are called.