The story of Virgulino Ferreira da Silva (the lamp) dates back to 1898, in the city of Serra Talhada, Pernambuco. Born of a wealthy family, the name Virgulino was only known from 1920 onwards, when he became the greatest cangaceiro in Brazil.
Cangaceiro is the name given to the heavily armed criminal who roamed the hinterlands of the Northeast during the first three decades of the 20th century. Have you ever heard of Lampião and Maria Bonita? Let's get to know a little about this macabre love story and how the King of Cangaço came about.
See too: Rachel de Queiroz.
Index
Lampião grew up in a wealthy family in Pernambuco. In the city of Serra Talhada began the story of this cangaceiro who became. Pernambuco upside down, spreading terror wherever his gang passed.
For reasons of land dispute, Virgulino's father had. been murdered and the son became an outlaw in 1920. A bunch of. cangaceiros, adepts to their ideals, then welcomed a Virgulino thirsty for. revenge.
In a short time, he becomes Lampião – the leader of the group of. cangaceiros that marked the history of northeastern cities. The history of. Lampião is surrounded by controversy. While some say what his nickname if. owing to the fact that he handled the rifle as quickly and deftly as the shots. successive lights lit up the night, others believe the version attributed to Mr. Pereira, according to which Virgulino would have used the glare of a shot to. find a cigarette that a colleague had dropped on the floor.
In 1930, Lampião and his army of cangaceiros already had one. disputed several lands in the region. With many defeats and victories on his list, Lampião's gang became one of the most sought after because of his. dangerousness.
Although some believe that Lampião was a hero of the backlands. in search of justice for the latifundio lands, there are controversies about a. question because of the macabre rituals of death that Lampião and his troupe were. involved.
With a dagger of up to 80 centimeters, a lamp and a bunch of it mutilated. whoever got in his way with a well-aimed blow to the base of the. victim's collarbone. The murder sites, in addition to being stages bathed in. blood, were used to injure, maim and leave visible scars, to. to serve as an example to anyone who was opposed to cangaço.
There are reports that show the cruelty of Lampião when he. he drew deep wounds on his victims – for men a cross sign on the. forehead and in women, hot ironing on the face using the. instrument of cattle branding.
The populations of poor regions of the sertão saw Lampião. like a Robin Hood of the cangaço, while the farmers and the State saw him as. the figure he really was: a dangerous and cruel looter who left one. blood trail wherever it went.
The King of Cangaço finally surrendered to love. Maria Bonita, one. backwoodsman from Pernambuco, she was divorced from her first husband José Miguel da. Silva and was the first woman to enter the cangaço.
Maria Gomes de Oliveira, Maria Déa, gradually softened the. Lampião's heart of stone and soon became Maria Bonita, accompanying her lover throughout his pilgrimage through the caatinga.
Virgulino's first encounter with Maria Déa took place at. her parents' house in the year 1929. Malhada Caiçara (BA) was the cradle of love. between Lampião and Maria Bonita, who was the niece of a protector of Lampião.
In 1930, a year after they met, the girl left her. family and joined the bandit, to live next to the man she loved. Never before. in the history of cangaço a woman had been allowed among the bandits. But Maria Déa was an example that things would work well, even with one. woman among them.
The women in the pack did not perform domestic chores. All. the work of cleaning, washing and cooking was a task reserved for men. The paper. of cangaceiras women was to keep their husbands company and satisfy them.
They didn't go to war either, with the exception of Dadá, a woman of the. cangaceiro Corisco, who later became the leader of the cangaceiros. Upon arrival. de Maria Bonita, Lampião became less and less involved with cangaço, choosing instead. for resting more and living a less nomadic life. The arrival of the couple's daughter, Expedita Ferreira, further changed the couple's lives.
And it was in one of those homes that the trajectory ended. Lampião and Maria Bonita, culminating in the death and decapitation of both in a square. public.
In the second half of the 1930s, Getúlio Vargas imposed. a real hunt for Virgulino and his gang.
In 1938, Lampião, most likely betrayed by someone from. confidence, was found at one of the retreats he regarded as the most. safe, and his band was ambushed at dawn. That night, eleven cangaceiros. died in the attack and twenty-three fled desolate over the death of the leader they were. one of the first to die.
Grota do Angico, Sergipano sertão, was the stage for the. murder of Maria Bonita and Lampião. After a battle against the troops. Lieutenant José Bezerra, the King of Cangaço was surprised and killed, along with a. Beautiful Mary woman.
In the case of Maria Bonita, the cangaceira was beheaded alive, with. refinements of cruelty on the part of the police. The heads of cangaceiros do. Lampião's gang were exhibited in public squares in the hinterland cities. northeastern, to serve as an example of the fate of those who followed the life of the. cangaço.
The skulls of the band of cangaceiros were taken to. institutes of criminology to be studied, where they passed by verified. medical examinations, they took their measurements and were weighed in order to find theirs. criminal patterns.
After traveling to southern Brazil exposing the remains. of the cangaceiros, the State sent them to the Federal University of Bahia, where they went. examined again and then put on display at the Anthropological Museum. Estacio de Lima, where they stayed for three decades.
For many years, the family members of the cangaceiros fought for. right to grant a dignified burial to Lampião and his gang. In 1965, after one. great public pressure, the heads of Lampião, Maria Bonita and other members of the. cangaço were buried, putting an end to Virgulino's story.
But with so much controversy surrounding this story. macabre, as Gilberto Gil would say in his music, “so many cangaceiros/ Como. Lampião/ No matter how much they kill themselves/ They will always come back”.
Subscribe to our email list and receive interesting information and updates in your email inbox
Thanks for signing up.
