This text demonstrates that Adhemar Bezerra de Albuquerque was a pioneer in photography and film production in the state of Ceará, Brazil. His production company, Aba Films—whose name comes from his initials—founded in the twenties is still active today; the company areas of expertise are developing and enlarging film. Aba’s first films presents highlights of the city of Fortaleza (capital of the state of Ceará) and other urban centers in the interior of Brazil, as well as events that took place there. The author discusses the tie between Aba Films and Benjamin Abrahão, a Lebanese immigrant and traveling salesman who, while passing through the town of Juazeiro, became the international secretary of Father Cícero, witnessing the only visit that the feared popular bandit “Lampião” [Virgulino Ferreira da Silva] paid to the priest. Albuquerque and Abrahão became partners in 1936; Albuquerque provided Abrahão with the equipment to document “Lampião”’s journey through the largely desert region of northeastern Brazil. When he returned, the material he had filmed was developed at Aba Films. The film was censored by the Departamento Nacional de Propaganda (DIP) during the first dictatorship of Getúlio Vargas (that regime, which was in power from 1937 to 1945, was known as Estado Novo) in order to prevent the spread of images of the popular bandit amongst “cangaceiros” [isolated rebels in the Brazilian countryside]. That same year, Abrahão, “Lampião,” and much of his gang were killed, their heads put on public display at the Instituto Nina Rodrigues de Salvador (Bahia). For decades, the whereabouts of the film were unknown. It was finally released as a fifteen minute documentary in 1957 after lengthy negotiations between Aba Films and distributors in São Paulo.  

This text provides an account of early film production in the state of Ceará in northeastern Brazil and information on early Brazilian cinema in general. The documentary produced by Aba Films and traveling salesman Benjamin Abrahão is today considered the most important record of the adventures of “Lampião” and his bandits, a theme that has been addressed exhaustively in prints from this region of the country. Adhemar Bezerra de Albuquerque was also responsible for the cinematography of “It’s All True,” which actor and director Orson Welles filmed during a trip to Fortaleza, for which Albuquerque was also responsible. The film demonstrates his skills as a cinematographer.

Virgulino Ferreira da Silva (1897–1938), alias “Lampião,” was the leader of a gang of rural bandits known as “cangaceiros” [yokes, because of their agrarian background] active in the twenties and thirties. They robbed ranches, stealing food, tools, and even cattle which they would then distribute to the poor in the style of Robin Hood. After they were captured, their throats were slit and their remains left at the morgue for decades. It was not until 1969 that their relatives were authorized to bury them. This group of bandits captured the collective imagination of the poorest regions of Brazil, where it is still widely celebrated and illustrated.