Juan Moreira

Early life

Moreira was born in La Matanza, Province of Buenos Aires. For his first thirty years he worked rural jobs until he could buy a ranch, cattle, and farmland. He rarely drank and spent free time perfecting his guitar playing, which attracted Vicenta, daughter of a local rancher.

They married with her father's consent. Moreira had lent 10,000 pesos to grocer Mr. Sardetti. Sardetti denied the loan, and Moreira was jailed 48 hours for attempted robbery.

Point of no return

Enraged, Moreira swore to stab Sardetti for each peso lost and killed him in a facon duel at Sardetti's store. Returning home, he found Don Francisco and four soldiers waiting to arrest him. In the fight, Don Francisco and two soldiers died. Moreira was extremely skilled in knife fights, winning all encounters, often against multiple opponents.

He avoided fights when possible and killed only after repeated provocation and in self-defense. He later worked as a bodyguard for politicians who promised to clear his name but never did. He kept his horse saddled for quick escapes and wandered towns including Navarro, Las Heras, Lobos, Veinticinco de Mayo, and lands of Cacique Coliqueo.

Death

They surrounded the pulpería La Estrella where he was hiding. Moreira fought fiercely and was about to leap a wall to his horse when Sergeant Chirino bayoneted him in the left lung. Moreira shot Chirino, costing him an eye, and wounded another officer before dying. He was buried in Lobos cemetery, survived by his wife and son Juan.

Legacy

Moreira's life exemplified the violence and injustice gauchos faced. His skull and personal items are displayed at the Juan Domingo Perón Museum. Eduardo Gutiérrez's novel about him inspired at least four biographical films, notably Leonardo Favio's 1973 Juan Moreira starring Rodolfo Bebán. Jorge Luis Borges fictionalized the night of his death in the short story La noche de los dones.