How José Mª El Tempranillo became a myth

To the south of Córdoba, in Jauja, a village, which in is the municipality of Lucena, begins the story of the famous romantic andalusian bandit, José M ª El Tempranillo. Natalio Rivas was the historian who found the certificate of his baptism in the Church of San Jose, Jauja, stating that Jose Pelagio Cobacho Hinojosa "El Tempranillo" was born in Jauja on 21 June 1805.

His life would have had passed with no great importance except for the tragic pilgrimage of San Miguel, close to the Mountains of San Miguel, the knives came out, bright and sharp from an outraged honor, a woman was the primary cause for the loss of life, wandering outside the law.

The boy, barely 16, had to flee from justice, "taking to the hills", where he met a party of bandits, all much older than him. The nickname of El Tempranillo, is attributed to a woman who helped the party of bandits, she saw that he was so young, and said:

- Early start, boy! Tempranillo start early!

That boy of Jauja, with a natural intelligence infinitely greater than his height, formed a gang of bandits who were dedicated to the assault of galleys and the imposition of a tribute to the traveller: The pass. The robberies were always made in the light of day, avoiding violence: "Take a ring-type Mérimée-of the hand of a woman:" Ah, madam, a hand so beautiful does not need ornaments. In the words of a Spanish lady, slide the ring off the finger and kiss the hand in a manner capable of believing, that the kiss was more valuable than the ring,

His reputation as a thief who stole from the rich to give to the poor spread throughout Andalusia: "You get rid of believing that the master amass treasures. What he received or took, her hands immediately distributed. " Thus spoke Gasparin Valérie, a French traveller in love with Spain.

The Captain General of Andalusia, D. Vicente Quesada, seeing that it was impossible to catch him, partly for the help ordinary people lent him, despaired and offered a hefty reward “ six thousand reales was to be paid to members of the Army, Royalist Volunteers or any person, who found for José María alias El Tempranillo, dead or alive, and three thousand for each of those accompanying the wrongdoer. " But it was impossible to capture:

How wonderful,

five hundred migueletes

and not get caught.

They seek him in Lucena

and  in Seville!

(Carlos Cano)

He married María Jerónima Francés in Torre Alháquime (Cádiz), the product of this marriage bore a son, Jose Maria. María Jerónima died in childbirth. This unfortunate incident occurred because the King's Volunteers, called Migueletes, surrounded the place where he and his wife were. The shooting and din caused his wife to go into birth prematurely with the above outcome. Jose Maria El Tempranillo, far from giving up, mounted the corpse of his wife on a horse, the baby attached to his belt and went at a gallop between shots of migueletes, emerging unscathed from the difficult situation.

Little is know about the José María`s men, neither their names nor the reasons for their binding to him. The documentation, hitherto known, makes reference especially to three: Frasquito "El de la Torre”, José Ruiz German, alias "Venitas" or "Penitas," and Juan Caballero alias "El Lero.

The situation became untenable and the pressure of the Andalusian rich landowners on local authorities prompted the intervention of King Ferdinand VII himself. He granted a pardon to all members of his gang, except for Veneno.

Anecdotally, Juan Caballero states that on July 23, 1832 at the Ermita de la Virgen de la Fuensanta in Corcoya, there was a pardon, "we all come together in Fuensanta as agreed, all very happy wearing our best clothes, with our horses and weapons [...] three commanders leading the front and [...] friends and relatives behind, we put all our weapons on a table and gave up our horses and went to his home. "

They abandoned the dangerous life of banditry and lived in peace, without having to spend the night vigilantly, without risking their lives at every turn.

Jose Maria and several of his men formed part of the Migueletes, commanded by Captain General, the Marquis of Amarillas, in order to pursue criminals and bring them to Justice.

After a Few months he took a new mission, in September of 1833, José María "El Tempranillo" met his death while chasing some thieves. The incident occurred at the farm of Buenavista, in Alameda.

One of the robbers, probably "Barberillo", was hidden behind a window in the farmhouse, he fired his weapon in an act of treason.

On September 22, 1833, José María "El Tempranillo" died surrounded by his men, when he only was thirty three years old.

His will shows that in his long criminal career he never amassed wealth for personal gain: his two houses, two horses, some money he lent, that he would never recover, and an orphan child who wasnt quite two years old, were the only assets inherited by the king of Sierra Morena.

José Antonio Rodríguez Martín

Official historian and chronicler of Alameda