Lampião led a band of up to 100 cangaceiros, who occasionally took over small towns and who fought a number of successful actions against paramilitary police when heavily outnumbered.

Virgulino was born on June 7, 1897, near the village of Serra Talhada, on his father's 'ranch' named Passagem das Pedras in the semi-arid backlands (sertão) of the state of Pernambuco.

[5] The backlands had little in the way of law and order, even the few police in existence were usually in the pocket of a local "Coronel" – a leading landowner who was also a regional political chief – and would usually take sides in any dispute.

These moves proved to be fruitless as violence followed the family, with Virgulino and his brothers Antônio and Levino gaining reputations as troublemakers.

Virgulino had acquired the nickname 'Lampião' as early as 1921, allegedly because he could fire a lever-action rifle so fast, that at night it looked as though he was holding a lamp.

After only a few months of operating together, in 1922, Pereira decided to retire from banditry; he moved to the State of Goiás and lived there peacefully into advanced old age.

[9] For the next 16 years, he led his band of cangaceiros, which varied greatly in number from around a dozen to up to a hundred, in a career of large-scale banditry through seven states of the Brazilian Northeast.

[11] A strange and contradictory piety ran through Lampião's psyche: while robbing and killing people, he also prayed regularly and reverenced the Church and priests.

He generously rewarded his followers and those of the population who shielded or materially helped him (coiteiros), and he was entirely reliable if he gave his word of honour.

[14] Lampião's band attacked small towns and farms in seven states, took hostages for ransom, extorted money by threats of violence, tortured, fire-branded, and maimed; it has been claimed that they killed over 1,000 people and 5,000 head of cattle and raped over 200 women.

[15][16] A typical example of Lampião's activities, and his ambivalent nature, is his descent on the small town of Queimadas in Bahia, which took place in December 1929.

The bandits began their assault on the town to the sound of a bugle; when advancing they shouted vivas and sang their special song, Mulher Rendeira (The Lacemaker).

[18] As well as engaging in criminal activities for gain or revenge Lampião's band also fought a number of pitched battles with the volantes – mobile units of paramilitary police.

[25] On July 28, 1938, Lampião and his band were betrayed by one of his supporters, Joca Bernardes, and were ambushed in one of his hideouts, the Angicos farm, in the Poço Redondo area of the state of Sergipe.

A police troop, led by João Bezerra and armed with machine guns, attacked the encamped bandits at daybreak.

However, his major subordinates, such as Luis Pedro, Ângelo Roque and Corisco, often led bandits in semi-independent operations at a considerable distance from the main camp, sometimes across state borders.

Some bandits even turned on colleagues, killing and decapitating them; they then reported to the police with the severed head to show that their renunciation of banditry was sincere.

[36][better source needed] Lampião was mentioned in the lyrics of "Ratamahatta", a song of Brazilian metal band Sepultura, from their Roots record.

In classical music, the composer Caio Facó wrote a piece (Cangaceiros e Fanaticos, for string quartet) inspired by the theme of Cangaço.

[37] For the 2023 edition of the Carnival parade of the Rio de Janeiro samba schools Imperatriz Leopoldinense dedicated their performance to Lampião’s memory, complete with themes and images from his life.