In the majority, ‘cangaceiros’ were given or chose nicknames or aliases, calling them “war names”, which, generally, were related to their personal characteristics, abilities or biographical facts.

Son of Manuel Gomes da Silva and Firmina Cleto, Cristino Gomes da Silva Cleto – later known as Corisco - was born in 1907, in the town of Matinha de Água Branca, in the State of Alagoas.

Known as the ‘King of Cangaço’ [banditry] and ‘Governor of the Sertão’ [semi-arid region], Virgulino Ferreira da Silva was born on 7 July 1897 on the Ingazeira Farm, located in the municipality of Vila Bela (today Serra Talhada), in the Pernambuco semi-arid region.