Outlaws in Love
Files
Description
Brazilian folk literature has long been a focus of curators of UNM’s Latin American Collections. While thinking about materials for this event, yet another shipment of Literatura de Cordel came across my desk and it included a piece on Brazil’s favorite outlaw couple, Maria Bonita and Lampião.
Lampião (Virgulino Ferreira da Silva, 1897-1938) was a notorious bandit (cangaceiro) active in the 1920s and 1930 in Brazil’s hardscrabble Northeast. His reputation as a folk hero is somewhere between those of Pancho Villa, Billy the Kid, and Robin Hood. His relationship with Maria Bonita is romanticized with the same flavor as fans in the US view the violent and dramatic exploits of Bonnie and Clyde.
Maria Bonita (Maria Déia, 1911-1938) joined the band in 1930 and became Lampião’s common-law wife, although she was married but estranged from her husband. Cangaceiro women were well-armed and were trained in the use of weapons. Females whose partners were killed had to either take up with another band member or face execution, as they were considered a liability if captured. Several women joined the band and participated over the years.
Footage of daily life in the camp can be viewed at https://youtu.be/j2JNhBaFNXs
Lampião, Maria Bonita, along with 9 others of the band died via betrayal and ambush in 1938. As a grisly show of power, the paramilitary police displayed their severed heads to the public. Their remains were not released to the family for burial until 1969.
Curated by Wendy Pedersen, Center for Southwest Research
Keywords
Cordel, Brazil, Cangaceiro
Disciplines
Archival Science | Latin American Languages and Societies | Portuguese Literature
Recommended Citation
Center for Southwest Research. "Outlaws in Love." (2019). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/cswr_lita_2019/8
