Casares de las Mujeres

A project to recover the role of women in Casares throughout history

Mujeres de Casares: Smuggling
Abandonment and necessity

After the Civil War, many women from Casares, widows or separated from those persecuted from the Republican side, were left unprotected by the state, so they had to resort to illegal activities to get food for their children. Smuggling was a way of life practiced in the area.

These women, locally known as “recoveras”, were involved in smuggling low-value and scarce products such as sugar, penicillin, tobacco, or coffee in this area. They periodically made the 50 km journey from Casares to La Línea de la Concepción, where they acquired the products, and then returned to the town to sell them.

Over 50 women, mainly heads of households, carried out this activity in Casares, which served as a means of subsistence and struggle against hunger and poverty.
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Matuteras en Gibraltar (1948). Autor: Eliot Elisofon
Gibraltar (1948). Author: Eliot Elisofon