Fernando Delgado Sanz (May 30, 1846July 5, 1914), better known as El Tuerto del Pirón or Tuerto Pirón, was a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

bandit Banditry is a type of organized crime committed by outlaws typically involving the threat or use of violence. A person who engages in banditry is known as a bandit and primarily commits crimes such as extortion, robbery, kidnapping, and murder, e ...

. He worked mainly in the

Sierra de Guadarrama The Sierra de Guadarrama (Guadarrama Mountains) is a mountain range forming the main eastern section of the Sistema Central, the system of mountain ranges along the centre of the Iberian Peninsula. It is in Spain, between the systems Sierra de ...

and in the basin.

Biography

Childhood

He was born in May 1846 in Santo Domingo de Pirón as the son of Ramón Delgado Adrados, a native of Escalona del Prado, and Ana Sanz de Ysabel, of Santo Domingo de Pirón.

Initiation

In 1866 he returned to his hometown at the end of his military service and discovered that his girlfriend in the village had married a man from a rich and influential family. It was then that he began his criminal career with his first crime, stealing the best lamb from the father of his former girlfriend and eating it with his friends in a cave in the Losana de Pirón area. He mocked and ridiculed the father by leaving the remains and skin of the animal at his door along with the text, "for the godfather." The story spread and he quickly became famous in the whole area.

Crimes

After he committed his first crime, an influential person immediately asked the Civil Guard to hunt him down, so he lived as a robber, hiding in the Caves of the Vaquera and Murciganillos in Losana de Pirón and the old elm of

Rascafría Rascafría is a municipality of the Community of Madrid The Community of Madrid (; ) is one of the seventeen autonomous communities and 50 provinces of Spain, provinces of Spain. It is located at the heart of the Iberian Peninsula and Meseta ...

. His crimes included the theft of cattle, robbery of rich houses and churches, assaults on walkers and travelers, and the kidnapping for ransom of members of the bourgeoisie, nobility and clergy. He formed a band with rustlers from the area including some childhood friends. Their crimes became more and more serious and widespread. Despite the murky stories that were told about his deeds, he only committed one murder and allowed another by one of his companions, both traitors of the gang. Unlike most bandits, he was disgusted with blood. One of his most famous crimes was the complicated church robbery of Tenzuela, in which he entering through the roof without leaving a single trace.

Death

He died at age 68 on July 5, 1914, after being imprisoned for 26 years in the San Miguel de los Reyes Prison,

Valencia province Valencia ( , ), officially València (), is a province of Spain, in the central part of the autonomous Valencian Community. Of the province's 2.7 million people (2024), almost one-third live in the capital, Valencia, which is also the capita ...

Description

El Tuerto del Pirón was described as follows by the Civil Guard:

Age, 35 years; stature, rather tall than short; wide and loaded on his back; Wide face; color, brown; shaved beard; with a little mustache. As a particular sign, a cataract in the left eye. He wears blue trousers, a brown cloth waistcoat, and a long checkered jacket or jacket; good black boots, and a wide hat or blue beret much used.

According to an article published on August 16, 1921, in ''El Adelantado de Segovia'', he would often walk through the city calmly greeting the Segovian citizens as they recognized him, but they were speechless with fear:

The famous Segovian bandit did not shy away from appearing in public; taking, on the way, a seat in the cars of the land and getting off where he seemed. Courteously saying goodbye to the passengers who had recognized him, but who were careful to let him know to avoid dangerous inconveniences.

''Reino'' of the Tuerto

He created a small band of rustlers among his childhood friends and others from the town of Espirdo,

Segovia Segovia ( , , ) is a city in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Segovia. Segovia is located in the Meseta central, Inner Pl ...

and

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

. The most important were Barroso, Aquilino Benito Pérez, Consuegra and two brothers called Los Tormenta. Their zone of power was called ''El Reino del Tuerto'' or ''País del Tuerto'' because of the power and control they exerted over the place. It extended throughout the region of the river Pirón, the valleys of

Río Viejo Río Viejo is a town and municipality located in the Bolívar Department, northern Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in ...

, that of

Lozoya Lozoya () is a municipality in the Community of Madrid The Community of Madrid (; ) is one of the seventeen autonomous communities and 50 provinces of Spain, provinces of Spain. It is located at the heart of the Iberian Peninsula and Meseta ...

and that of the Río Pirón up to Pedraza, part of the Cega river basin in addition to both slopes (

and

) of the Sierra de Guadarrama. His crimes were famous throughout the

province of Segovia Segovia () is a province of central/northern Spain, in the southern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is bordered by the province of Burgos in the north, Soria in the northeast, Guadalajara in the east, Madrid in the south, ...

and

, for instance in the town of

where he was known for hiding in its centenary elm. He also was in towns as close to the Segovian capital as Tres Casas (now Trescasas) and Sonsoto, although in the latter two he was unsuccessful. Some of his actions were carried out in neighboring municipalities of the

province of Valladolid Valladolid () is a province of northwest Spain, in the central part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It has a population of 525,398 across a total of 225 municipalities, an area of , meaning a population density of 64.77 people ...

with the

. On both sides of the

he was known, sought after and highly feared.

Popular culture

There are several rural houses and restaurants with his name in the area where he once took refuge. His feats are described in numerous verses and romances in the popular culture of the area, such as the "Copla del Tuerto Pirón" and the book ''Romances of El Tuerto de Pirón'' by Tomás Calleja. A street in Santo Domingo de Pirón now bears his name. His figure and history have also been used by public institutions with the aim of rehabilitating inmates from the Segovia jail.

Bibliography

* ''Romances of El Tuerto de Pirón'' (Tomás Calleja Guijarro, SG - 102/2005)
''Famous Bandits Una Información''
(A. Suarez Guillén - nº 13.943 1930)

References

{{Authority control 1846 births 1914 deaths Cowboys