Maria Bonita

Maria Gomes de Oliveira, known as Maria Bonita (Glória, Bahia, Brazil, March 8, 1911 - Poço Redondo, Sergipe, July 28, 1938), was the first woman to participate in a group of cangaceiros and the companion of the most famous of their bosses, Virgulino Ferreira da Silva "Lampião".

Biography

Daughter of María Joaquina and José Gomes, at the age of fifteen she married José Miguel da Silva, known as Zé Neném, a shoemaker. In 1929, due to a marital disagreement, he met Virgulino Ferreira da Silva, alias "Lampião", who was the best-known outlaw in the Brazilian northeast, part of a movement known as cangaceiros, who on the one hand saw themselves as simple lawless bandits, and on the other, as rebel movements that sought change in their society.

The following year, Maria Gomes de Oliveira joined Lampião and lived with the cangaceiro for 8 years, until the day of her death in Angico, Porto da Folha, on July 28, 1938, when the band was surprised in a camp and Maria Bonita was beheaded. During those eight years, Maria Bonita earned the nickname Queen of Cangaço. She had four children, of whom only Expedita, born on September 8, 1932, survived.

María Bonita is part of Latin American folklore, and it is common to find businesses and public places named in honor of the Queen of Cangaço.