![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2010\/09\/bandolero.jpg\" "\\"bandolero\\"")
<\/a>They went along roads and paths, all the way to the mountainous regions of Ronda and Sierra Morena, where the bandits had their hideouts. They created the typical figure of the bandit as a highway man, robbing the rich to give to the poor. They showed how their culture was tied to bullfighting and even art, as the flirting with a dark-hair woman reflected by Prosper M\u00e9rim\u00e9e in his novel Carmen.<\/em><\/p>\nHowever, reality was not always that romantic, so let\u2019s meet some of the real bandits of the time:<\/p>\n
Jose Ulloa Navarro, aka Tragabuches, from the gang of the Seven Children of Ecija, was a banderillero (a bullfighter\u2019s helper who sticks banderillas into the bull\u2019s back) before turning to smuggling in partnership with his lover, Maria \u201cLa Nena\u201d. He became a bandit, as the story goes, after a violent crime of passion, and he was one of the most fearsome ones.<\/p>\n
Jose Maria Pelagio Hinojosa Cobacho, \u201cEl Tempranillo\u201d, the most admired bandit among the poor, fled to the Sierra after killing a rich young master who was courting his girlfriend. He had a gang of over 50 men, and they took to assaulting carriages and stagecoaches. He used to share his loot with those in need, fought against rich local bosses and landowners, and he wasn\u2019t as violent as other bandits. He was killed by one of his men, leaving his legend as his legacy.<\/p>\n
Finally, although I leave without mentioning many others, is Andres Lopez, or the boatman of Cantillana who, after a series of legal disputes, had to leave his job and became a bandit. He inspired the famous TV series Curro Jimenez. Who in Spain doesn\u2019t remember the Algarrobo, the Student, the Gypsy, and of course the leader of the gang, Curro Jimenez, who provided us with so many good times in our childhood? I\u2019ll leave you with them\u2026<\/p>\n
http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=-fXwJEttlXM<\/a><\/p>\n Los acontecimientos hist\u00f3ricos suelen facilitar la aparici\u00f3n de grupos sociales, y personajes que encarnan tanto a h\u00e9roes como a villanos. Cuando estos cobran importancia, el arte, la literatura, incluso la m\u00fasica, ayudan a inmortalizarlos. Esto es lo que ha ocurrido en Espa\u00f1a con la figura del bandolero.<\/p>\n Al igual que en muchos otros pa\u00edses, los bandoleros, malhechores y contrabandistas han existido desde la Antig\u00fcedad, sobre todo en \u00e9pocas de hambruna y guerra, pero en Espa\u00f1a fue en el marco de la invasi\u00f3n francesa durante el siglo XIX cuando adquirieron especial relevancia. La resistencia espa\u00f1ola tuvo que refugiarse en montes a la entrada de Napole\u00f3n al pa\u00eds, y la dif\u00edcil situaci\u00f3n del pueblo favoreci\u00f3 que m\u00e1s gente se dedicase al pillaje.<\/p>\n Los viajeros rom\u00e1nticos europeos, sobre todo los franceses como Gautier, Dumas, Davillier o Dor\u00e9, fueron quienes cambiaron la visi\u00f3n que se ten\u00eda de este pa\u00eds atrasado, supersticioso e inculto, incentivando la curiosidad de sus contempor\u00e1neos. Ven\u00edan a Espa\u00f1a, y viajaban solos con la \u00fanica esperanza de toparse con un bandolero. Recorrieron caminos, llegando hasta la Serran\u00eda de Ronda y Sierra Morena, donde estos se ocultaban. Dieron vida al t\u00f3pico del bandido salteador de caminos, que robaba al rico para aliviar al pueblo. Mostraron c\u00f3mo estaba ligado al mundo del toreo e incluso del arte, rondando de amores a la mujer morena que Pr\u00f3spero M\u00e9rim\u00e9e reflej\u00f3 en su novela Carmen<\/em>.<\/p>\n Sin embargo, la realidad no fue siempre tan pintoresca, as\u00ed que mejor conocemos a alg\u00fan bandolero que nos ilustre:<\/p>\n