The Life of Buenaventura Durruti

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"We have always lived in slums and holes in the walls. We willknow how to accommodate ourselvesfor a time. For you must notforget that we can also build these palaces and cities, here in SpainandAmerica and everywhere. We, the workers. We can build othersto take their places. And better ones, we are not the least afraid of

ruins. We are going to inherit the earth. There is not the slightestdoubt about that. The bourgeoisie might blast and ruin its OWIIworld before it leaves the stage ofhistory. We carry a new world here

in our hearts, and that world is growing in this minute. "BuenaventuraDu,.",tI, In answer 10 the remark o/journallsl Pierre van

Paassen ("Toronlo Datly Star"Aug 51936), "You will be sitting on lOp o/ apile 0/ uins even if ou ere viclorious ".

The life etyIe r:I BuenaYeI1hraDunUiFirst publi&hed 1994. by Kale Sharpley lilnry, BM Hunicane, london,WCl 3XX (GB)

KSL IBSN 1873605 75 7


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The /own o fLean {LIon} Is a/the hearl of/he region o fAsiurias. Th.'As/urians were great ighters andpaida heavy price or /helr striving towardsfreedom A typical amily was that of/he Durrullsand Dumanges Their son

Jose Buenavenlura Durroll y Dumange (better known as BuenavenluraDurrutl) became a legend n his lifetime and seemed to personify the entire

movement.

BUENAVENTURA DURRUTIDUMANGE(1896-1936)

JOlfe Blle"ave,,/ura saclccd &urn the companyDllrr"'; Dllma"ge WtJlf following the 1917 genborn i" the Santa Alia eral strike and at the samedilftrict of Leoll 011 14 time severed his connecJuly 1896, the son of tions with the UGT beSantiago Durrutl and cause it had no stomachAnastasia Dumange.lle for the fight. Like manystarted work at an earl y other workers&urn Loon,age as a mdalworlu:r In he was forced to go awaya variety of workshops as a result of that strike(the Melchor Martlncz and after some time inworks dC .), beginning Asturias and inFrance heIn 1916a5a Otter' s mate was arrested upon his rewith the Railroad Com- turn to Spain and courtpany. martial\ed in San

Hitherto a habitue of Sebastian as a draftsooialist circles, he was dodger.

Upon his release (ahernia saved him frommilitary service) he returned to Loon, workingin Antonio Miaja'sfoundry. His strong personality, strict sense offairness and appetite forthe struggle ensured thathe was forever in trouble.It became ' advisable' forhim to leave Leon because of his union activities (especially in connection with the strike at theAnglo-American MiningCompany in Matallana,where he happened to bewhile installing somecoal-washing facilities).

Moving to SanSebastian, he came intocontact with the anarchistand anarcho-syndicalistpractices then makingheadway against the passivity of the socialists.Along with militants likeGregorio Suberviela,Marcelino del Campo andothers, he helped Solt upthe ' Los Justicieros'(Avengers) group at atime when defenceagainst the repressionorganised by the bossesand the authorities was aprime necessity. In citieslike Valencill, Bilbao,Barcelona, Zaragoza,etc.,a variety of anarchist defence grou ps carried the


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burden of resistancewhilst trying to federatewi th one another in orderto co-ordinate their efforts to protect the threatened CNT.Los SoIUUuiM

In mid-1922,Buenaventura Durruti,along with FranciscoAscasI.>, Torres Escartin,Suberviela and Marcelinodel Cam po madeCatalonia the focal pointof heir activity, setting upthe 'Crisol' group. Thename soon changed to'Los Solidarios' as theyembarked upon a flurry ofactivity in reply to the violence &Um the state, carrying out attentats, robberies, etc. When the Dic-tatorship of Primo deRivera CIUl1e in 1923, the

CNT went undergroundand many of its militantswere obliged to go intoexile. Durruti a nd AscasI.>crossed into Francewhere they helped establish a libertarianbookshop and continuedto help the anarchists athome.

Towards the cu d of1924 they set off for theAmericas, embarkingalong with Oregorio 'elToro' Martinez (also&urn Lean) upon an od-yssey that was to takethem through Cuba,Mexico, Peru, Chile andArgentina in a groupc:aIled, aptly enough, 'LosErrantes' (Wanderers).

Retuning to Europe,Durruti, FranciscoAscaso an d GregorioJover were arrested inParis on charges of proparing an attempt on thelife of Alfonso xm. Following a hunger strikeand support in the shapeof a vigorous international campaign for theirrelease, they were needfrom prison.

In the short time hespent in France prior tobeing deported, Durrutimade the acquaintance ofthe woman who was to behis partner, EmilienneMorin. She followed him

l>MnvIi i" 1936

into exile in Belgiumwhere be carried onworking as a mechanic.

When the Second Ro-public was proclaimed in1931, Durruti returned toBarcelona and threw himself nto the intense activityofthattime.That sameyear he travelled back toLeon to attend his father'sfuneral, availing of theopportunity to hold ameeting under the auspices of the CNT LocalFederation in the bullringthere.

Rearrested inBarcelona, he was deported to Fuerteventuraalong with a hundredother prisoners before hewas eventually able tomake his way back toCatalonia.TIre l4lte thirtiD

Increasingly convinced of the necessityand imminence of insurrection when the Rightwon the 1933 elections.Durruti joined the Revolutionary Committee thatproclaimed libertariancommunism in Decemberthatyear and was arrestedonce more. After alternate periods of freeedomand incarceration, he attended the Congress ofZaragoza in 1936 when

Du,ruti, pro-J936

the opposition unions returned to the fold and theeN T detailed its conception of revolution.

That revolution wasnot long delayed for, inreply to the anny revolt inJuly, the CNT took to thestreets in defence of therights of the workers .With the anarchists controlling the streets inBarcelona, Durruti set hisface against any agreement to collaborate withother institutions or political forces, and so,when the notion of

"democratic collaboration" proposed by DiegoAbad de Santilllln wasaccepted, and the CeittralCommittee ofAnti fascistMilitias formed,Buenaventura Durrutiopted instead to form acolumn of volunteers andset off to fight on theAragon front. There,whilst attending to the demands of warfare, thehighest example of revolutionary practice wasacted out in the shape ofthe collectives, a successtruncated only by theforce ofCommunist Partyarms.

CNT headquarters to thecemetery.

His wife, EmilienneMorin was handed all hiseffects: a small suitcasecontaining a change ofunderwear, shaving gear,two hand guns, a pair ofsunglasses, binocularsand a notebook with asingle entry reading: "15November. Applied to thesub-committee of theeN T for a 100 peseta advance to cover personalexreDSCs."D""./II;asreoo/Jedby Airsister Rosa Victoria

"Every time he could,Pepe called at the house

In OctoberI936 when to sec ou r parents. liethe Republican govern- called often but did notment resolved to defend stay long, just a day orMadrid at all costs, it was two, and he availed of heintimated to Durruti that opportunity to tidy himhis presence in the capital self up a bit, because hewas crucial. Although he arrived with his jacketrefused in principle, and tom . My brother Caterosomeofhiscomradesand said to him: ' You're afriends advised him real good for nothing: it' sagainst going, he eventu- the same every time youally suceumbed to pres- come.' And he wouldsure and arrived in look at them with a grinMadrid at the head of a and reply: 'Go on, you'vecontingent of his troops. had your bonus so buy me

On 19 November, in a jacket.' One was madecircumstances still not for him at the tailor's thatcompletely clear, he was Don Mariango Paniaguamortally wounded and had in the Calle Reinadied the following day . Victoria: his brotherHis body was removed to Santiago fixed him upBarcelona and crowds with shoes and my motherthronged the villages and darne d his clothes. Mycities to watch the cortege mother never got anyas it passed. In Barcelona money from him, neitherupwards of a million Spanisb money no rpeople packed the city in French, which is a sourcea final tribute along the of satisfaction for us .procession route from the Nothing, not one penny.


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to"Why? Because he

was out on his own fromboyhood, committed tothe social struggle fromthe strikeofl9 17: forevercommitted 10 his ideas, 10the CNT. He adored theCNT. Whenever he washome he would sit thereand sing 10my little brothers Manolin and Pedro.My mother used to say:'What sort of an idiot isthis guy, you would evensing about your expulsionfrom the organisation!' Itwas what he believed andhe lived for it!

"As a boy he was restless and intcUigent, forever hanging around hisbrother Santiago: along

Anaslasia Dllmang .Sol.r, MoIMr rfDurruli.

with Santiago he att endedDon Manuel Femadez'sschool in the Ca ieMisericordia and took religious instruction fromthe Franciscans who promoted him for his workand gave him diplomasthat my mother kept foryears and years, But hewas reluctant to takecommunion there and henearly blinded 6 n ~ 9f the ,friars with his catapult.

"Later they attendedthe El Cid sehools withDon Ricardo Fanjul 10-gether up to the age of 14and he remained affectionate and intelligent, butsomething of a rebel.Whenever he startedwork at the workshopthat Don MelchorMartinez had in Renueva,he arrived home with areal and said: 'Look atthis mother, that 1 havebrought home: see whatwe get whilst they getrich.'

"My mother could notunderstand : 'But son,what do you expect if youare learning a trade? Whatdo you want them to giveyou?' Obviously that wasthe going rate. I was alsopaid onc real per week atthe worlcshop. But thisguy could not bear it andbore a grudge againstMelchor. One real aweek! (Equivalent abou t

2Sp in GB today)."At the age of 18 or 19

he quit Melchor's workshop and went off to LaRobla because they paidbetter. He was a goodgrafter and he thereas a mechanic. M c 8 i l \ ~ h i l e we moved here to the LaVega quarter because myfather was bad with thegout and this house wasacross the street from hiswork. Within the yearSantiago left to do hismilitary service and myfather asked Pepe to takeover his job while he wasaway, He took a practicaltest and was taken on asa fitter's mate withConstantino Laiz at therailway depot . He wasthere up until the revolutionary strike broke out in1917, My brother playeda very prominent part init . He was the first tocome out. He becamevery friendly with RamonCastro and as the strikedragged on, they threw ascab into the river. Thepoor fellow was draggednaked through LasNegrillas and my brotherand Castro were held for10 or 15 days in the oldjail.

"Even then my motherwas beginning to suffer alot on his account. Shewent to sec the lawyerMo1iner who then secured

---------------------------------his release through thegood auspices of DonFemando Merino, whowas a great friend of myfather who was an election worker for him. Mybrother could not standthat and was told: 'Comeon, with wits as sharp asyours you could be cun-ning elections.' But hestuck 10 his struggle: hesaid that he had no wishto be a traitor and he became more and more hardline. Once the strike wasover he was sacked by theCompany and the social-

ists expelled him and his found ry :'and Miaja sentfriends from their trade him to in"itaJl some coalunion, as a result ofwhich w a s I i i l i 8 f a 4 : i l i t i e ~ f o r thehe underwent a lot of per- A n g i o - S p l i r l i ~ f { t J : n i n g secution. Then he made Company ' M a i i d l a n a , up his mind to move and it so h a p ~ ~ l : d t h a t away, using his rail pass there was a p r o b l e m ~ t h as it would enable him 10 an English enginccr. :Mytravel free and so he went brother could not. ;tOmto France. ach inj ustices, and he was

"About this time he on the m i n e r s ~ side; he rewas due for military sce- sorted to f o r ~ 8 . n d ~ a n -vice and as he was a ' t a l ~ aged to drive the engineersturdy lad he was as - away. This made ' I1im asigned to the artillery gar- reputation and the Civilrison in San Sebastian. Guard began to look: forThe fact is that he came him.back promptly at the start "We knew how he was 'r'of 1919 on a mission on because he 'Wrote a lot eibehalfof he Organisation ther to me or to my uncleand was arrested. He was Mariano who wa s aarraigned in San railwayman and hadSebastian as a draft moved to Zaragoza. Hedodger and my mothe r lived there in the toughvisited him in the prison est times. He really adthere on two occasions. mired Pepe (Jose, i.cBut ho was lucky. He had Durruti).ruptured himself playing "What an' impressionpolota and went off to my brother made on me!Madrid with my father fur He had to wear a disguise.;,an operation: that would , let his moustache grow' :;take eight or ten days and and wore mourning. 1 didhe did Dot report to the not recognise him.army. "He occasionally came

"Later he returned to Leon on business. Hehome: he showed up with always called 10 sce our 'an 'Evcrything is fine' and parents, bu t never stayedhis wife Mimi who wore long: off he would go toa beret French-style. At the union or to the Unionthis time he became very bar and he Mluld be gonefriendly with Cremcr and again, W heneve r he ar-,started work in the Miaja rived the police would be

Rasa iJurrIla, who di.d in /992


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I

Coktl' Durrutl i" 1971

around and my poormother was always thinking about her son therevolutionary, but he toldher: 'Don't worry abouta n y t h i b ~ happening tome; I'm well looked after. '

The Regueral businesswas pinned on him too,but it was not his doing:Regucml was killed by 8Basque because of hisconduct whilst civil governor in Bilbao: he told usso, in our home. But thatis how things were, eventhen: whenever anythinghappened, they arrestedSantiago and tried to arrest my &ther who was in,but we prevented that.

"He showed up againin August 1923, havingcome from Gijon to meethis commdes: then he wasoff again. But a certainArias from La Correderaspotted them on the beachat Gijon and when therewas a robbery at the banka short while later, he reported them as havingbeen responsible.

"I t was a long timebefore his next visit: hecarried on with his socialstruggles around theworld: he was in theAmericas, Germany,France. Once, after thehunger strike in Paris, hewrote to us: 'Mother,Rosa: don't you know Ihave taken aFrenchwoman as my part-ner? I'll introduce yousoon. ' This wasEmilienne Morin, a highly

"They pinned the intelligent woman whoblame for everything on was a great help to him inhim. Thething s they said! becoming a more roundedAnd my mother would ". man: he went to live withreply: 'How can this be? her in Belgium.Whenever he shows up I "And he showed up inhave to mend his clothes 1931 with Mimiand give him his fare!' (Emilienne), who was

then pregnant withColette. He wanted to scemy IBther and to have afamily portrait made, buthe found my IBther dying.He attended his death bedand oversaw the funeralarrangements. He washere for a few days.

Emili.1IMMori" and C0/4tt. Durnltl I" Paris (/949)

.. ,.. ;\: .. . ,,',,

Tejerina an d Monroy>: ' employ him. Mimi had aasked him to address a ' hard time ofit,.astheY hadrallyand be readily did 90, no money and' ~ C r c i ablein the bull ring in El to live only thanks to herCampo del' Patardo. He work and the solidaritywas edgy, I don't know, from comrad es, and theyil l at case because were forever moving .,Romero wanted to arrest house. They lived inhim: I never saw him that Horla, in Sants or withway. He ha d to go to comrades. Then heground, but in the cnd he ! stopped coming. AIaddressed the rally and though he passed throughthen left for La Robla. in 1935, addressing meet-"At home he told us ings, it was my motherthat when he left Belgium who took the train to gothe police had told him: an d listen to him in'Good luck Durruti.' He Bareclona.was ovcnvhelmed by that, "She liked to hear himbecause he had been liv- speak 'Rosa, you shoulding all those years under hear your brother speaklthe name of Juan and the And with those hand. ofname Durruti was neveruscd .

"When he arrived fromBelgium, I insisted oncoming to sce them. Theywere living in Clot, bu twere very poor, with justa few sticks of furnitureand their bed had ust oneblanket and no sheets,with MImi pregnant. Buthe was happy and said tome: 'Sce how Mimi eats?Wait until you sce what asturdy child we'll have.'He was always brimmingwith optimism and happiness, forever on themove, addressing rallies,giving talks. But he wasin custody a lot of timesan d nobody wanted to

his you'd think he wastrying to embrace thewhole people.' It wasPedro who brought us thenews of his death. He arrived at the house in asweat and told us:'Mother, Rosa, DonNicastrato Vela has toldme that Pepe's beenkilled.'

"But my mother wasvery strong (she saw fourof her children die) andwhenever she thought ofthe revolutionary one shewould tell me: 'Rosa, doyou know whflt came intomy mind tonight? Thatthere is a revolutionaryborn every so many yearsand my son was it.' The


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poor woman consoled flowers."herself like that. Later, (During the years ofwith the passage of time, the Franco occupationshetraveUedtoBarcelona the tombstones wereby train with a neighbour placed upside down sowoman. and at the ccm- that they could not beetery there she asked recognised But now theysome girls; 'Could you are displayedand alwaystcll me where the rebels' covere d wlthflowers. Intombs are? On e says the reconstruction o fAscaso and the other Monljulch cemetery theDunuti.' And when she gravesofDurruli,A.Il:asoarrived home, she told and Ferrer; .ride by.rlde.me: "Do you mo w Rosa, occupy a prominentthey werc covered with place).

Mmco 1915. (C.-... *d ) OtwgorioMartlnn (".tToIoW) . Durruti /lffroN (wItJt Dog)

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PUBLICATIONS OF KSL.Geotve Cores . .. RECOLLECTIONS OF ANARCHISTS IN THE PASTAIbert MeItzer .. .. .... ..... ... . ... ....... .... ............. . : .. .. .. .......... .. ..... FIRST FLIGHT

Dllvld Nlcon .. .... ....... ...... .... LIFE IN ENGLISH PRISONS (One Hundred Yea,. Ago)Davld Nlcon .............. .. .......... THE WALSALL ANARCHIST TRIALAntonlo Teller THE UNSUNG STRUGGLEA. Tellez an d others . ................. ANARCHIST STRUGGLES AGAINST FRANCOO. AI__ Md A. Gntnsac ................................. .. . .... . .. . . ..... .. ....... SPAIN 1962WIN Mcc.rtney .......... .. . ....... .. . ........ ..... . ..... ..... .... ...... .. DARE TO BE A DANIEL!Odon Pot' ................................THE ITALIAN GLASSBLOWERS TAKEOVER OF 1910Onlp T.ebry ...................................... MEMORIES OF A MAKHNOVlST PARTISANHaror "'.khno ........................................................ MY VISIT TO THE KREMLlNTWO UES THAT SHOOK THE WORLDAGAINST THE GOD EMPEROR:THE ANARCHIST TRIAL FOR HIGH TREASONAll 1 each (post free GB)

An occasional bulletin is published at 5Op.The CIItalogueof he .rr:hlves held by KSL will be ready for publication soon.SHORTLYREADY FOR PUBLICATION

.,. .. ., In preparation: John ereagile of Sheffield and Buenos Aires; An Italian Volunteer in Spain in theMay Days; Spanish Fighter3; Horse Trensport Union.


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The Life Style ofBuenaventura DurrutiBuenaventura Durruti symbolized theworking dass struggle in Spain throughout his life until his premature death onthe Madrid front. Bitterly denounced by allpolitical parties as a 'terrorist' and 'bandit',after his death various parties of the Leftclaimed he was just about to embracethem after all, but nothing would have in-duced him to turn his back on the causefor which he gave his life.

I The aim of the Kate Sharpley Library is tobring the working dass in general and An-archists in particular the unknown or for-'"gotten actions and activists of the past.

Durruti (like Makhno) is one of he few Anarchist revolutionary fighters whom historians record, but he is usually vilified ormisrepresented. Even those who appreciate and respect the memory of the fighterfrom Leon have little idea of the lifestyle ofthe man who became a legend amongSpanish libertarians.

-KS.L .. BM HURRICANELONDONWC13XXISBN 1 873605 75 7THE KATE SHARPLEV LIBRARY'

The Life of Buenaventura Durruti

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