Basque Nationalism in Exile in the United States: Basque Masculinity and Transnational Identity in “White Stars of Freedom“(1942), by Mirim Isasi and Melcena Burns Denny

Abstract

This article analyzes the didactic and propagandistic component of White Stars of Freedom, by Mirim Isasi and Melcena Burns Denny. I contend that this novel reproduces the oficial ideology of the Basque nationalism in exile after the Spanish Civil War by idealizing the United States as a promised land and stressing the existence of similar values in the United States and Euskadi, such as liberty, democracy and Christianity. The work aims to promote the support of the United States to the Basque nationalism in exile. Additionally, through the growth of Narbik, a Basque boy who works as a shepherd in Euskadi, the authors emphasize traditional values of masculinity in which Basque culture converges with the American one: physical and mental strength to overcome obstacles, loyalty, industriousness, independence, and the will to win. Narbik’s positive exile in the United States reinforces his masculinity by providing him with personal and professional opportunities. Narbik represents a transnational identity in which, after his naturalization as a United States citizen, he exclusively devotes his political loyalty to the United States while maintaining his Basque culture and roots.