Lampiao and Maria Bonita

Landscape and climate make the Northeast a popular destination for Brazil travelers. But who would have thought that this region has a dark past? The bandit Lampiao did his mischief here. He shaped folklore music and is still on everyone's lips through telenovelas, films, and literature. His home was the Sertao, the semi-desert vegetation in the Brazilian interior. Tree and shrub savannahs run through the area, which is characterized by low rainfall in the states of Ceara, Paraiba, Pernambuco, Alagoas, and Sergipe. A few fazendeiros (large landowners) engaged in cattle breeding still face an impoverished population in the Sertao today.
Now the true story of the villain Lampiao reads more excitingly than any thriller:
In 1898 Virgulino Ferreira da Silva was born in Pernambuco as the son of a shepherd. His later nickname Lampiao comes from the muzzle flash of his weapon, which Silva modified. Thus his rifle fired in direct sequence and showed the continuous glow of a lantern (Portuguese "Lampiao").

Towards the end of the nineteenth century, deep poverty and oppression of the rural population led to the formation of criminal gangs. These "cangaceiros" (outlaws) plundered cities, fazendas, and army bases. Virgulino da Silva joined the Sertao outlaws after the police killed his father during a family feud. As early as 1920, he rose to become the leader of a group of fifty bandits whose cruelty became legendary. When their victims fulfilled the demands made, there was a celebration. If they refused, violence and torture inevitably followed. Already in his lifetime, Lampiao was a phenomenon and overcame seven bullets and the loss of his right eye. The whistling of the song "Mulher Rendeira" (Lacemaker), which he composed for his grandmother, announced his raids. It was subsequently set to music many times, among others by the famous American singer Joan Baez. Sertao's code of honor made him a hero, as he took honorable revenge on his father's murderers. Soberly considered, Silva was a bloodthirsty and clever criminal who learned how to survive in the wilderness from his father and took an example from the Indians. His Cangaceiros used a common footprint to leave no trace. If a scoundrel died, another took his name so that the myth of immortality would be preserved. Influential relationships with politicians and policemen long ensured the inviolability of Lampiao and his henchmen. At the height of this monstrosity, the Brazilian government signed a treaty with Silva in 1926. In exchange for the provision of one hundred and twenty Cangaceiros with weapons and uniforms, Brazil's head of state demanded the suppression of a socialist military revolt.

Love, of all things, brought Lampiao his downfall. Maria Bonita ("The Beauty") was first his lover and wife before she became the first female member of the criminal clan. Other women followed and jealousies and quarrels arose within the group. Finally, a traitor informed the military police in Sergipe of the whereabouts of the villains. Silva, Maria, and nine of their accomplices were caught and shot in 1938, and the heads of Silva and Co. were preserved in brine and displayed in public. They remained in the Museum of the Medical Faculty of the University of Salvador da Bahia until the 1960s.

Lampiao, romanticized by many as "Robin Hood of Sertao", was simply a great criminal. Nevertheless, his homeland owes him a certain degree of fame. You can walk in his footsteps in the home cinema ("The Outlaws", 1953 film) or on vacation in Brazil. Today, no one needs to worry about Lampiao's hail of bullets.

Sources: caiman.de