Gregório Fortunato

Gregório Fortunato (24 January 1900 – 23 October 1962) was the head of the personal guard of Brazilian president Getúlio Vargas. Fortunato was also known as , due to his size, physique and his black skin.

Biography Fortunato was born on 24 January 1900 in the city of São Borja, in Rio Grande do Sul. He was the son of freed slaves Damião Fortunato and Ana de Bairro Fortunato. He was married to Juraci Lencina Fortunato, with whom he had a couple of children.

He worked as a cattle rancher on farms in the region and became close to the Vargas clan after participating in the Constitutionalist Revolution, as a soldier in the 14th Auxiliary Corps of São Borja (today the Military Brigade of Rio Grande do Sul), a unit commanded by colonel Benjamim Vargas, brother of president Getúlio Vargas.

After the failed Integralist uprising against Vargas in 1938, Benjamin created a personal guard to protect the president, recruiting twenty trusted men in his city, including Gregório, who became the head of the guard for his loyalty until the end of the Estado Novo.