Basque Shepherds

I would like to express my sincerest appreciation for the wonderful article by Miles Corwin about the Basque shepherds (Part I, April 16). What an uncommon pleasure it was to find it on the front page of my Sunday paper. Both my father (may be rest in peace) and stepfather (Pete Montero) came from the Spanish Pyrenees as sheepherders and lived the demanding, difficult life so well described by Corwin. My mother’s father spent 19 years doing the same before returning to Spain.

I can personally testify to the accuracy of Corwin’s article, as I was raised in Wasco (near Bakersfield) and know very well all that he described (the Noriega Hotel, the people, the history, etc.). I could all but taste the food (although he left out the flan) and hear the Basque folk music in the background. The rich and colorful story of the Basques has added greatly to the history of the American West, particularly California and its San Joaquin Valley. It is a story too seldom told, it seems, making it all the more appreciated when it is recounted well and faithfully.

ALBERT RIZOS

Chula Vista