Luisana Lopilato Becomes Pepita la Pistolera: 10 Facts About a True Story

Margarita Graziana Di Tullio grew up in a family from the port area of Mar del Plata, where her father, Antonio, played a decisive role in her upbringing. From a young age, he dressed her in men's clothes and trained her to fight. He took her to boxing practice and, according to what Di Tullio said years later, she even took part in fights for money against other young people.

Guns also entered her life early. When she was 10 years old, her father taught her how to shoot, and over time, Margarita developed a strong affinity for revolvers. Those who knew her recalled that she preferred firearms to bladed weapons. From a very young age, then, she became associated with two elements that would later define her story: fighting and guns.

In 1969, when she was 21, Margarita Di Tullio was arrested alongside her partner at the time, Guillermo Cabrera. According to reports from the period, Margarita and her partner Oscar Pérez robbed couples looking for privacy in secluded areas of Mar del Plata. She carried weapons and took part in the robberies, a practice that would eventually lead her back to prison.

The arrest put her on the crime pages and in front of the cameras. During the coverage, Margarita tried to hide her face from photographers. But, as she explained at the time, she wasn't doing it out of shame: she feared that the exposure would make it harder for her to return to working at night once she was released.

The legal proceedings over those robberies dragged on and, in 1971, Margarita was sentenced to five years in prison. She spent part of the following years at Dolores Prison. After her release, she returned to Mar del Plata and went back to working in the city's nightlife.

It marked the beginning of a new chapter in the life of Margarita Di Tullio, who years later would become one of the best-known figures in Mar del Plata's crime news.

In the mid-1980s, Margarita Di Tullio began to establish herself in Mar del Plata's nightlife scene. Together with her partner, Guillermo Schelling, she opened Neisis Drinks, a cabaret that became one of the central businesses of her life.

The venue eventually brought together around 40 women and attracted a diverse clientele, from sailors and shopkeepers to professionals and politicians. According to accounts from her family, the business was sustained mainly through the sale of drinks, while the women received a percentage of the customers' spending.

On August 20, 1985, three armed men arrived at the apartment in Mar del Plata where Margarita Di Tullio and her partner, Guillermo Schelling, lived. According to Margarita's account years later, they had come to demand money from Schelling. The situation ended in a shootout. Di Tullio said the men threatened her partner, her, and her children, so she took a revolver and shot at the attackers.

Two of the three men were killed, while the third managed to escape. Forensic investigations also determined that there was another gun in the apartment, belonging to Schelling, which had also been fired. Margarita was sentenced to three years in prison, suspended, for exceeding the limits of legitimate self-defense. The incident made national headlines and led to a nickname that, ironically, she never chose.

Margarita Graziana Di Tullio was “Marga” to those closest to her, but the media began calling her “Pepita la Pistolera.” According to accounts of her life, the nickname originated in a journalistic mix-up: a journalist associated her with another criminal who had been given that nickname years earlier.

The name also referred to a 1959 Mexican song about an armed woman. Margarita never liked the nickname. She also disliked being compared with that other Pepita. According to accounts of her life, she said she respected criminals who followed a code and believed that she had not. But there was one thing the media could not change: “Pepita la Pistolera” became the name under which she entered history—and the one Luisana Lopilato now brings to the big screen.

Over the years, Margarita Di Tullio stopped being merely a name in the crime pages and became a media personality. She loved show business, Sandro, and the chance to meet celebrities. She was also convinced that her life was worthy of a book. She appeared in various media outlets and eventually told her story at Mirtha Legrand's table and took part in Chiche Gelblung's lie detector test.

For her appearance on Mirtha's show, she went to the hairdresser, bought new clothes, and sat at the country's most famous table. There, she told part of her story and used cocaine in front of the cameras, something she would later regret. She also developed a recognizable public image: the black sunglasses she wore at all times, her way of speaking, and her tough-girl attitude from Mar del Plata's nightlife all became part of her identity.

In the 1990s, Margarita Di Tullio found herself at the center of one of Mar del Plata's most notorious criminal cases: the murders of prostitutes attributed to the “Loco de la Ruta.” The Buenos Aires Provincial Police initially tried to link her to the crimes. Five of the murdered women had worked for Margarita, who by then was already a well-known figure in Mar del Plata's nightlife.

Over time, the case became surrounded by doubts and questions about the alleged serial killer and the actions of the police. Margarita then began to publicly demand justice for her “girls,” becoming one of the most visible voices surrounding the case.

In 1997, Margarita Di Tullio's name once again appeared in the crime pages, this time in connection with the investigation into the murder of photographer José Luis Cabezas.

Pepita was arrested and investigated in the case and spent 77 days in prison. Investigators examined possible links between Di Tullio and people connected to the crime, but her involvement in the murder could not be proven.

Margarita always denied any connection to the case and, after her release, was cleared of involvement in the investigation.

Margarita Di Tullio died in 2009, at the age of 61, after suffering a stroke in San Juan. Her remains were taken to Mar del Plata, where family members, friends, and former employees from her cabarets said goodbye to her with Sandro's music, applause, and champagne. Her parrot, Lorenzo, was also present at the wake and, during the farewell at the cemetery, her children fulfilled one of her final wishes: to raise a glass of champagne in her honor.

Neisis Drinks continued operating after her death. In 2012, police raided the establishment and found 13 women working there. The operation led to a case involving human trafficking, in which one of Di Tullio's sons, his partner, and another woman were indicted.