For much of its history, the Basque Country has been split by borders that aren’t theirs, putting it into a kind of no-man’s land. Families were separated by this imaginary line, but the laws on either side were real. This led to a whole underground of trade perpetuated by men and women known as mugalariak. Crossing the Pyrenees in the cover of night, these smugglers carried forbidden goods from one side to the other. This network proved valuable during World War II when the mugalariak used their connections and familiarity of the land to help downed allies and persecuted Jews cross the border to freedom.

• Mugalari, the Basque word for smuggler, comes from muga, which means border, and lari, to denote someone who does that thing. So, mugalari is someone who lives in the border and crosses the border. They often worked across the Bidasoa river that separates Gipuzkoa from Iparralde.
• Smuggling across the French-Spanish border has a long history. Of course, it is natural that Basques, who lived on both sides, would circumvent border restrictions. Mugalariak would smuggle pretty much anything: candles, grease, coal, bicycles, oil, cows, chocolate, sugar, coffee, spare parts for cars, records or even books banned by censorship.
• Some of these smugglers were young men, not much more than boys. They were often shepherds who complimented their wages with smuggling. They worked at night, taking advantage of the darkness and their familiarity with the mountain routes.
• However, mugalariak became “famous” during World War II. They helped downed allied airmen and Jews cross the border from Nazi occupied France to neutral Spain, where they would be escaped to Britain. Several of these smugglers were part of the Comet Line that crossed Europe and facilitated the rescue and escape hundreds of people. These included Miguel Etulain, María “Maritxu” Anatol Arístegui, Florentino Goikoetxea, Kattalin Agirre, and Ana María Bidegaray.
• Their activities continued into the Franco era, where mugalariak would aid Euskadi ta Askatasuna (ETA) members get across the border to escape Spanish prosecution. These mugalariak were often associated with ETA directly and persecuted and even targeted as such.
• The tradition of the mugalariak is recognized today in sporting competitions with the so-called zaku eramatea, or sack carry or smuggler’s run. Teams of 3 have to run with heavy sacks on their shoulders that weigh between 130 and 180 pounds.

A full list of all of Buber’s Basque Facts of the Week can be found in the Archive.

Primary sources: Homenaje a un mugalari by A. Irisarri, Noticia de Navarra; Mugalari, Wikipedia