Ángel Dorda, known as “El Gaucho,” is one of the protagonists of Burnt Money (2000), the film adaptation directed by Marcelo Piñeyro based on Ricardo Piglia’s novel of the same name. The character is portrayed by Spanish actor Eduardo Noriega, who brings to life an emotionally unstable, violent man who is also vulnerable and deeply in love with his criminal partner, Nene Brignone
(Leonardo Sbaraglia).
Set in 1965, the film tells the story of a group of criminals who plan and execute a daring armored truck robbery, followed by a prolonged and brutal escape that culminates in a police siege in Uruguay. Within this context, Ángel and Nene are not just criminal accomplices: their relationship is also intimate, affectionate, and forms the emotional core of the film.
From their first shared appearance, it’s clear that the bond between Ángel and Nene goes beyond camaraderie. They share a bed, caresses, intense gazes, and an emotional dependence that the film portrays unambiguously. The narrator makes this clear from the opening minutes. Although the word “bisexual” is never spoken, as is common in many Latin American film narratives, the relationship between these two men is both loving and sexual.
Ángel is a character marked by trauma. The film suggests he hears voices and suffers psychotic episodes, making him unpredictable. He’s capable of brutal violence, and at several points his paranoia isolates him even from his own comrades. Yet his relationship with Nene serves as an emotional anchor. It’s with Nene that he shows his tenderest, most human side. Amid the criminal chaos and mental deterioration, Ángel clings to this love as his only certainty.
Throughout the film, Ángel also has sexual encounters with women. These scenes are more physical than emotional, portrayed with less emotional weight than his interactions with Nene. This distinction doesn’t invalidate any of his attractions but rather reflects the diverse ways bisexual desire can manifest. Rather than reinforcing negative stereotypes like hyper sexualization or betrayal, the film offers a representation where Ángel’s desire, though chaotic, is sincere and human.
The emotional and narrative climax of Burnt Money occurs in Montevideo during the extended police siege, in the apartment where the characters hide. Over more than 15 hours of armed resistance, Ángel and Nene remain together, determined not to surrender. This mutual loyalty — which culminates in both their deaths — recalls classic cinematic love stories, with a queer twist that breaks molds. It’s a narrative of devotion and shared destiny that transforms their story into a kind of bisexual Bonnie and Clyde.
Ángel’s representation is significant for several reasons. First, for his visibility as a bisexual man in a Latin American crime film from the year 2000, a time when such characters were scarce and often caricatured. Second, because the film treats his relationship with respect, without mockery or condescension, never presenting it as marginal or shameful. And finally, because it offers a portrait of male bisexuality in all its complexity: affectionate, erotic, contradictory, powerful, and tragic. Their marginalization stems from being criminals, not from their bisexuality.
Noriega’s performance is essential to maintaining this balance. His portrayal avoids affectation or stereotype, constructing Ángel as a fragile, violent, and lovestruck man. It’s a restrained yet tense performance that makes believable both the danger he represents and the tenderness he expresses. His chemistry with Sbaraglia is palpable and authentic, and it’s this acting connection that makes the story’s central romance feel like what it truly is: a love relationship between two bi men.
In a context where male bisexuality remains either invisible or problematically portrayed, Ángel represents a powerful alternative: a bi character who isn’t decorative or subservient to heterocentric narratives. He’s an antihero, but also human, intense, and authentic. And that makes him a memorable figure in the history of bisexual representation in cinema.