Benjamin Abrahão Botto ( – May 10, 1938) was a Lebanese photographer. He is best known for filming the

Cangaço ''Cangaço'' () was a phenomenon of Northeast Brazil in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This region of Brazil is known for its aridness and hard way of life, and in a form of "social banditry" against the government, many men and women d ...

and its leader Virgulino Ferreira da Silva. He was murdered during the Estado Novo period in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Early life

Benjamin Abrahão Botto was born in

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

. To avoid becoming a

conscript Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it contin ...

of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

that fought in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Abrahão migrated to

in 1915. In Recife, he worked as a traveling salesman, selling cloth and small goods. Attracted by the frequency of pilgrims in the city of

Juazeiro do Norte Juazeiro do Norte is a city in the state of Ceará state in northeastern Brazil. It is located 491 km south of the state capital Fortaleza in the semiarid sertão. The municipality has a population of 276,264 (2020 official estimate) and co ...

, he moved his business there.Artigo
MONTEIRO, Fernando. ''Cinema e cangaço na terra do sol'' in: revista História Viva, edição 23 - Setembro 2005 (página acessada em 12 de fevereiro de 2008). Abahão was the secretary of

Padre Cícero Cícero Romão Batista (24 March 1844 – 20 July 1934) also known as "Padre Cícero", was a Brazilian Catholic priest who became a spiritual leader to the people of Northeastern Brazil. Batista has been declared a saint by the Brazilian Cathol ...

and met the cangaceiro

Lampião "Captain" Virgulino Ferreira da Silva (; 7 June 1897 – 28 July 1938), better known as Lampião (older spelling: ''Lampeão'', , meaning "lantern" or "oil lamp"), was probably the most successful traditional Brazilian bandit leader of the 20th c ...

in 1926 when he went to

to ask for the priest's blessing and seek the rank of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

, for helping the government in the pursuit of the

Coluna Prestes The ''Coluna Prestes'', also known as ''Coluna Miguel Costa-Prestes'', in English Prestes Column, was a social rebel movement that broke out in Brazil between 1925 and 1927, with links to the Tenente revolts. The rebellion's ideology was diffuse, ...

.Matéria
, Virtual Books, página pesquisada em 12 de fevereiro de 2008.

Career

In 1929, Abrahão photographed the cangaceiro leader with the priest, two of the most important figures of the northeast region of Brazil. After the death of

, Abrahão asked and received permission from the infamous

to follow his group in the

Caatinga Caatinga () is a type of semi-arid tropical vegetation, and an ecoregion characterized by this vegetation in interior northeastern Brazil. The name "Caatinga" comes from the Tupi word '' ka'atinga'', meaning "white forest" or "white vegetat ...

and take the photos that in the future would immortalize them. For that he had the help of cearense Ademar Bezerra de Albuquerque, owner of ABAFILM, lent him the equipment and taught him to use it. The

Getúlio Vargas Getúlio Dornelles Vargas (; ; 19 April 1882 – 24 August 1954) was a Brazilian lawyer and politician who served as the 14th and 17th president of Brazil, from 1930 to 1945 and from 1951 until his suicide in 1954. Due to his long and contr ...

government, which saw Abrahão as an enemy of the regime, seized his work. He was murdered at

Serra Talhada Serra Talhada is a city in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. It is located at 07º59'31" South and 38º17'54" West, at an altitude of 429 metres. As of 2020, its estimated population by IBGE was 86,915 people. Its area is approximately 2980 ...

(with 42 stab wounds)Matéria
, Virtual Books, página pesquisada em 12 de fevereiro de 2008. without either the killer or the motivation for the crime ever surfacing.

Lampião's Letter

Lampião himself wrote a letter, certifying that his pictures were taken by Abrahão. The text below is a translation from the Portuguese original letter wrote by Lampião. It is important to highlight that Lampião was semi-alphabetized and the text may have many errors in the Portuguese version.

Recordings

Abrahão had to work out how to record the group that was running away from the government's increasingly violent pursuit. The meeting occurred in an isolated place of the Brazilian

, where the cangaceiro leader, very suspicious of the man's intentions, he did the first recordings with the photographic equipment himself. Only then did he allow Abrahão to record. Abrahão then returned to

Fortaleza Fortaleza ( ; ; ) is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeastern Brazil. It is Brazil's 4th largest city—Fortaleza surpassed Salvador, Bahia, Salvador in 2022 census with a population of slightly over 2.4 mi ...

with his work obtained more resources to take more pictures of the group. Some started considering Abrahão a suspect because he sent pictures and articles to newspapers describing their adventures, but also for his knowledge of the whereabouts of the group.

Abandon and rescue

On April 7, 1937, newspapers transcribed the order from the director of the national Department of Press and Propaganda (Departamento de Imprensa e Propaganda-DIP) that determined the seizure of the movie "Lampião". Here is the transcription: His works were forgotten until the 1950s when the Getúlio Vagas Foundation incorporated them. In 1999, his life became the subject of the movie '' Perfumed Ball''.História do filme
, com sinopse, e breve biografia de Benjamin Abrahão (página pesquisada em 12 de fevereiro de 2008). In 2000, his work was presented in many expositions in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

and

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

.Notícia
in: Folha de S.Paulo, de 9 de outubro de 2000 (página pesquisada em 11 de fevereiro de 2008) File:Virgínio Fortunato e bando NH.jpg File:Maria Bonita MB.jpg File:Lampião MB.jpg File:Dadá e Corisco MB.jpg File:Maria Bonita, fotografada em 1936 por Benjamin Abrahão Botto.jpg File:1886lampiao3g.jpg File:1886lampiao2g.jpg File:Cangaceiro Corisco.jpg

References

External links

Radio France Internacionale: As fotos e o mito do Cangaço.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Botto, Benjamin Abrahao Brazilian photographers 1890 births 1938 deaths