The story in brief
The police kill the father of a muleteer from the sertão, Brazil’s dry northeastern backlands, and the son becomes the most feared cangaceiro, or outlaw, in the country. He gets a fake commission and real rifles, Maria Bonita and a cameraman. Bandit or hero? The sertão still argues.
The chapters
-
Chapter 1 · 5 min · Free
From Virgulino to Lampião
The police kill a small farmer who was never a cangaceiro. His son will become the king of the cangaço.
Sources: Lampião’s interview with O Ceará (1926); Frederico Pernambucano de Mello
-
Chapter 2 · 5 min · Free
Captain Virgulino
In the government’s name, a cangaceiro is made a captain. The paper is worthless. The rifles are not.
Sources: Lampião’s interview, Juazeiro, 1926; Lira Neto, Padre Cícero
-
Chapter 3 · 5 min
Maria Bonita
A young woman leaves her shoemaker husband and joins the most feared band in Brazil.
Sources: Adriana Negreiros, Maria Bonita (2018); Photographs by Benjamin Abrahão
-
Chapter 4 · 5 min
The Man with the Camera
A Syrian-Lebanese peddler does what no soldier could: he finds Lampião. And films him.
Sources: Benjamin Abrahão’s film and photographs (1936)
-
Chapter 5 · 5 min
Angico
One gully, one dawn, twenty minutes. And the question the sertão still argues about.
Sources: O Povo, July and August 1938; Frederico Pernambucano de Mello
Who’s who
The people you meet. Each one is a hero card you can collect.
- José LucenaAlagoas police officer · Hunter of cangaceiros · From Mata Grande to Angico
- Padre CíceroPadim Ciço · The saint of Juazeiro · Political boss of the Cariri
- Maria BonitaMaria de Déa · Queen of the cangaço · Maria do Capitão
- Benjamin AbrahãoPeddler · Padre Cícero’s secretary · The man who filmed Lampião
- CoriscoThe Blond Devil · Group chief · The last great cangaceiro
- LampiãoVirgulino Ferreira da Silva · Captain Virgulino · The King of the Cangaço
What you’ll be able to tell
This story belongs to the journey “The Republic”. By the end of it, you can tell what the people really saw on 15 November, why the Republic needed four expeditions to defeat Canudos, and how Lampião got a captain’s commission.
Stories in this journey
- Dom Pedro II: The End of the Empire
- Canudos: The Town at the End of the World
- Lampião: The King of the Cangaço
Sources
- Lampião’s interview in Juazeiro (1926)
- Benjamin Abrahão’s film and photographs (1936)
- Newspapers of July and August 1938
- Frederico Pernambucano de Mello
- Adriana Negreiros
