Juan Moreira

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Juan Moreira

Juan Moreira (*? In unknown; † April 1874 in Lobos (Buenos Aires) ) is a well-known personality in Argentine history, an outsider , gaucho and folk hero. However, he was also one of the most famous Argentine bandits .

Life

Moreira was born in the La Matanza area in the province of Buenos Aires . The first thirty years of his life were uneventful, he worked in the country so that one day he could buy his own farm, a piece of land and a few cattle. One characteristic that set him apart from others was that he seldom drank. Moreira devoted his free time to playing the guitar, which is why Vicenta, the daughter of a respected man, became aware of him. She fell in love with him and married Moreira, with the full consent of her father.

Troubles began shortly after the wedding. The local vice-mayor, Don Francisco, was also in love with Vicenta. As a form of revenge, he began fining Moreira for any real or imaginary offense. The first fine was 500 pesos as the wedding reception would not have been officially approved.

Around this time, Moreira loaned a Senor Sardetti, the owner of a grocery store, 10,000 pesos to buy goods. Frustrated by the demands to get the loan repaid, Moreira reported to the vice-mayor, hoping that he could convince Sardetti to return the money. In accordance with the habits of honorary people at the time, there was no written agreement between Moreira and Sardetti. It is unclear whether Sardetti and Don Francisco conspired against Moreira, but Sardetti denied the loan and Moreira was jailed for 48 hours for attempted robbery.

This situation made Moreira so angry that he swore he would stab Sardetti in the back for every peso. He fulfilled his vow and killed Sardetti in a knife fight in his shop. When he returned home after a stray night, Don Francisco was waiting there with four soldiers to arrest him. He resisted and killed Don Francisco and two of the soldiers.

At this point the unfortunate part of his life began. As a talented knife fighter, Moreira won every argument, even against several people at the same time. Because of his fame, men looked out for him to defeat him, but he never lost. He avoided fighting whenever possible and only killed after repeated provocation and in self-defense. After all, he served as a bodyguard to various politicians who promised to clean up his reputation but never did.

It is said that Moreira never took the saddle off his horse in case he had to flee quickly. He spent a large part of this phase of his life traveling through various cities in the province of Buenos Aires, including Navarro , Las Heras , Lobos , Veinticinco de Mayo and the area of Cacique Coliqueo .

death

In April 1874, Casimiro Villamayor, Justice of the Peace of Lobos, was instructed by the Governor of the Province of Buenos Aires, Mariano Acosta, to send a force to arrest Moreira. She found him in the “Pulpería” (gaucho bar) La Estrella . Moreira resisted arrest and was about to jump over a wall that separated him from his horse when one of the officers stuck the bayonet in his left lung. Moreira managed to shoot this officer, who lost an eye as a result, as well as to injure another officer before he died. Moreira left behind his wife and son Juan. He was buried in the Lobos cemetery.

legacy

Juan Moreira is one of the most important figures in the folk history of Argentina. His life was marked by the violence and injustice typical of the unfair treatment of the gauchos, which ultimately led to his death. His skull and some personal belongings are now on display in the Juan Domingo Perón Museum.

His life was an inspiration for both literary works and films:

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Bandidos Rurales

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Moreira, Juan
BRIEF DESCRIPTION argentinian bandit and gaucho
DATE OF BIRTH 19th century
DATE OF DEATH April 1874
Place of death Lobos (Buenos Aires)