José María the Bandit is an outlaw who operates in the Sierra de la Cabra, south of the lands under the jurisdiction of the United Platforms of the Plata Estuary. His southern frontier lies within the jurisdiction of Santa María de Torregrises, the Rosist capital of Torregrises.
Some testimonies call him José Manuel, a variant that may be a copying error or the sierra men’s habit of changing names as convenient.
He is an ambivalent contact: neither a full traitor nor a reliable ally, but an intermediary who leads people where he needs to arrive, without anyone being able to say he fully deceived them.
Role
Through him, by way of a convict who served as guide, certain travelers crossed the sierras and reached a desolate spot where the colorados del monte (the “reds of the wild”) kept water and provisions, in conditions the testimonies call «totalmente terribles» (“totally terrible”). Afterward it became clear that José María had accounts of his own to settle: his business with “the brothers” was the real reason for the whole route.
His name circulates more than his person: he is more mentioned than seen.
Open questions
- Who “the brothers” are is not yet clarified.