The Tucuman Robin Hood

Andrés Bazán Frías was born in a humble neighborhood of the capital of Tucuman at the end of the 19th century. The “manco”, as he was known since his youth, worked during his childhood and adolescence, first helping his father and then as a waiter. But something in him changed and left the trays aside and bent over the crime. Today, in the north he is remembered as the Tucuman Robin Hood and many visit his sanctuary to ask for protection.

Your history of crime

It is said that social injustices and poverty, coupled with a context of violence experienced in those years, caused Bazán Frías to start stealing. He began to carry out armed robberies with his friend Martín Leiva in the area of the former Central Station Córdoba in the province of Tucumán. But the funny thing about the story is that, according to the story, Andrés was in charge of distributing what he got in the most humble neighborhoods. Over time, stories and the myth that he was stealing for people with few resources, who at that time proliferated outside the capital of Tucuman were added.

He was detained in prison and, tired of ill-treatment and beatings, decided to escape. One night, together with his companion and armed with revolvers, broke through the guards and That's how they got to the door. Bazán managed to escape by killing Second Lieutenant Juan I'm a big shot.

Later, in 1923, and after a few months in hiding, was liquidated by the police when he tried to climb a West Cemetery wall.

Bazán Frías is buried in the North Cemetery, the final resting place of the Tucuman popular classes. Become a thief of the humble, for some he is a popular saint, with his grave full of thanks and requests. Bazán Frías is today the “saint of the prisoners” and many even go to his sanctuary to ask for wishes.

Bazán Frías: Commendation of Crime

A group of documentalists from the group “Cine Bandido”, headed by Lucas García and Juan Mascaró, went into a Tucuman prison (Villa Urquiza) to recreate the story by the mythical offender organizing a workshop with inmates that resulted in the film Bazán Frías: Commendation of Crime, which premiered last year and is now available on YouTube (suitable for 16 years old). In the film, the story of Bazán is brought together and that of the prisoners themselves who are responsible for recreating it in a kind of casting and production of the time.

The inmates speak in first person about the hardships of the prison, speak from their loneliness, also about the relationship with the other prisoners. They have a voice, and that's what's interesting. They pose things from their vision, tell their life stories. A documentary that intersects from the depths of the prison. You can watch it for free on YouTube by clicking here.