Biography

"Captain" Virgulino Ferreira da Silva (June 7, 1897 – July 28, 1938), better known as Lampião (meaning "lantern" or "oil lamp"), was probably the most successful traditional Brazilian bandit leader of the 20th century. The banditry endemic to the Northeast of Brazil was called Cangaço. Cangaço had origins in the late 19th century but was particularly prevalent in the 1920s and 1930s. Lampião led a band of up to 100 cangaceiros, who occasionally took over small towns and who fought a number of successful actions against paramilitary police when heavily outnumbered. Lampião's exploits and reputation turned him into a folk hero, the Brazilian equivalent of Jesse James or Pancho Villa. His image, as well as that of his partner Maria Bonita, can be seen across the entirety of the Northeast of Brazil.