"Captain" Virgulino Ferreira da Silva (Brazilian Portuguese: [vi?gwlinw fe'?ej?? da 'sjwv?]), better known as Lampião (older spelling: Lampeão, Brazilian Portuguese: [l?~pi'?~w], meaning "lantern" or "oil lamp"), was the most famous bandit leader of the Cangaço.
Cangaço was a form of banditry endemic to the Brazilian Northeast; it 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.