Tag Archives: Miguel etulain

Basque Fact of the Week: Mugalariak, the Basque Smugglers

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. […]

The Story of Miguel Etulain

By John Etulain Like many other Basques before and after him, my father, Miguel “Mike” Etulain, came to the United States and made a notable life for himself and his family.  In 1952, he arrived in the United States where he worked for his Uncle Juan Etulain in Sunnyside, Washington.  Juan was getting out of the sheep […]