10. Tragedy Strikes Lampiao’s Family
In 1919, Nazaré do Pico was invaded by a bandit named Jacinto Alves de Carvalho, but was defended by Virgulino Ferreira da Silva, now known as Lampiao. Soon thereafter, Lampiao ambushed an uncle of his family’s longtime rival, Ze Saturnino. Virgulino’s godfather, Joao Flor, rushed to the sound of gunfire, thinking it was Jacinto once again attacking the village. He was revolted to find out it was his godson committing murder. A new feud then began, between the Flor and Ferreira families. Lampiao’s brother, Levino, took a shot at one of the Flors, initiating a firefight in which Levino was wounded. He was taken to a farm, where he was eventually arrested. Upon his release, the Ferreiras once again upped stakes, and moved to Agua Branca, in the neighboring state of Alagoas.
In 1920, Lampiao joined the cangaceiro band of an Antonio Matilde, and began to raid Saturnino’s farms. To protect his cattle and farms, Saturnino turned to his uncle, a cangaceiro named Cassimiro Honório. The bandit leader took several of his men to defend his nephew’s property, and several battles were fought between the two bandit groups. In the meantime, back in Alagoas, Lampiao’s father sent his son João Ferreira to buy medicine for a sick nephew. The local police arrested João Ferreira, as bait to try and lure Lampiao and his other fugitive brothers. Their mother grew worried, decided to leave the region, but between the stress and fear, she fell ill and died. Eighteen days after her death, Lampiao’s father was killed by police. Having become motherless and fatherless within just a few weeks, Lampiao and his brothers decided to turn to banditry and the cangaceiro life full time.
