Lampio and Maria Bonita’s only daughter is suing a Motis network for using her parents’ names in a pun (Photo: O Cruzeiro/Arquivo EM)
Expedita Ferreira Nunes, the only daughter of Maria Bonita and Lampio, filed a lawsuit against a Pernambuco motel chain for misusing her mother’s name in an advertising campaign with the slogan “Maria Bonita, light the Lampio” that aired in 2011. The case won of visibility this week when it came on the agenda of the Fourth Senate of the Supreme Court (STJ).
The campaign was broadcast in several cities in the north east and Expedita demanded the removal of the advertisement from the billboards and compensation. The King’s Daughter of Cangao argues that there was “improper use of images for commercial purposes, implying improper possession of the characters’ intangible heritage”. The Motis network claims that the characters are part of Northeastern culture.
In one phase, Aracaju’s 4th Civil Court recognized the abuse and ordered the facility to pay R$15,000. The Motis chain appealed to the TJ de Sergipe but the verdict was upheld with the value being reduced to R$8,000. When the company appealed again, the 11year lawsuit went to the Supreme Court.
Lampio and Maria Bonita
Virgulino Ferreira da Silva, better known as Lampio, was born on July 7, 1897 in Serra Talhada, Pernambuco state. In 1921, Virgulino joined the band of Sinh Pereira, one of the biggest cangaceiros in the Northeast, where he achieved fame and the nickname Lampio. In 1922 he took over the leadership of the group. On a trip through the northeast, Lampio met the beautiful Maria and fell in love. She joined Lampio’s band in 1930. Maria was the first woman to be part of the Cangao. As a result of this relationship, Expedita was born in 1932.
Lampio and Maria Bonita died in Sergipe in a surprise attack by flying troops at dawn on July 28, 1938. Lampio was beheaded and his head was uncovered in several northeastern towns to publicize the death of the socalled King of Cangao.
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