Luz del Fuego (née, Dora Vivacqua; early stage name, Luz Divina; February 21, 1917 – July 19, 1967) was a Brazilian feminist, ballerina,

naturist Naturism is a lifestyle of practising non-sexual social nudity in private and in public; the word also refers to the cultural movement which advocates and defends that lifestyle. Both may alternatively be called nudism. Though the two terms ar ...

, and

striptease A striptease is an erotic or exotic dance in which the performer gradually undresses, either partly or completely, in a seductive and sexually suggestive manner. The person who performs a striptease is commonly known as a "stripper" or an "ex ...

artist who performed with live snakes. Comfortable with

nudity Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. The loss of body hair was one of the physical characteristics that marked the biological evolution of modern humans from their hominin ancestors. Adaptations related to ...

, she wrapped

python Python may refer to: Snakes * Pythonidae, a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia ** ''Python'' (genus), a genus of Pythonidae found in Africa and Asia * Python (mythology), a mythical serpent Computing * Python (pro ...

s around her body and became famous in her time.

Biography

Born in

Cachoeiro de Itapemirim Cachoeiro de Itapemirim (local ) is a municipality and a major town, located in the south of Espírito Santo, Brazil, on the banks of the Itapemirim River. It is the economic hub of southern Espírito Santo, being the most important producer of m ...

Espírito Santo Espírito Santo (, , ; ) is a state in southeastern Brazil. Its capital is Vitória, and its largest city is Serra. With an extensive coastline, the state hosts some of the country's main ports, and its beaches are significant tourist attra ...

, she was the fifteenth child of the

Italian immigrants The Italian diaspora is the large-scale emigration of Italians from Italy. There were two major Italian diasporas in Italian history. The first diaspora began around 1880, two decades after the Risorgimento, Unification of Italy, and ended in the ...

Etelvina and Antonio Vivacqua, and the sister of

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Attilio Vivacqua. In 1932, her father was murdered by a group of people that, days before, he had expelled from his lands After her father's murder, the fifteen-year-old Dora Vivacqua was sent to live with her sister Angélia. Angélia's husband then began to sexually harass her. When caught by his wife, he blamed Dora and convinced the family that she was

schizophrenic Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social withdra ...

. As a result, she was hospitalized in

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte (, ; ) is the sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population around 2.7 million and with a metropolitan area of 6 million people. It is the 13th-largest city in South America and the 18th-largest in the Americas. The metropol ...

for two months in 1936. After her release, Vivacqua had lost ten kg. Her brother Achilles, who was worried about her health after her time in the asylum, suggested she move to the farm of another brother, Archilau. At the farm, she caused controversy by mingling with the lower-class farmhands and appearing onstage at an event for the farmworkers dressed as "Eve" - with

grape vines A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry (botany), berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non-Climacteric (botany), climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of ...

on her

breast The breast is one of two prominences located on the upper ventral region of a primate's torso. Both females and males develop breasts from the same embryological tissues. In females, it serves as the mammary gland, which produces and secret ...

s and pubis, and carrying two vine snakes. When Archilau scolded her for soiling the family name, Dora assaulted him. She was hospitalized again, this time in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

In 1944, she began performing as a dancer using the stage name "Luz Divina", changing it to Luz del Fuego in 1947, the name of a lipstick in the Argentine market. In 1946, she appeared in

Franz Eichhorn Franz may refer to: People * Franz (given name) * Franz (surname) Places * Franz (crater), a lunar crater * Franz, Ontario, a railway junction and unorganized town in Canada * Franz Lake, in the state of Washington, United States – see Fran ...

's film '' No Trampolim da Vida'', and the following year, starred in

Luis Moglia Barth Luis Moglia Barth (12 April 1903 - 18 June 1984) was an Argentina, Argentine film director and screenwriter, and one of the influential directors in the Cinema of Argentina of the classic era. He directed some 30 films between 1927 and 1959, ofte ...

's Argentine-Brazilian co-production ''

Não Me Digas Adeus ''Não Me Digas Adeus'' ( es, No me digas adios) is a 1947 Argentine-Brazilian romantic musical film directed by Luis Moglia Barth. The film was shot in Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro (state). Cast *Linda Batista *Lourdinha Bittencourt *Luiz Bo ...

''. In 1948, she appeared in Moacyr Fenelon's musical comedy '' Poeira de Estrelas'' opposite Lourdinha Bittencourt and

Emilinha Borba Emilinha Borba (August 31, 1923 in Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in ...

, and also had a role in Manoel Jorge and Hélio Thys's musical comedy '' Folias Cariocas''. On the Ilha do Sol (Sun Island), she established the first

naturist club A naturist resort or nudist resort is an establishment that provides accommodation (or at least camping space) and other amenities for guests in a context where they are invited to practise naturism – that is, a lifestyle of non-sexual socia ...

in Brazil, the "Brazilian Naturist Club". In the early 1950s, she founded a political party called the Brazilian Naturist Party and ran for Congresswoman for this party. She lost the election as her brother, Attilio, denied the party's official establishment. In 1956, she made an appearance in

Curt Siodmak Curt Siodmak (August 10, 1902 – September 2, 2000) was a German-American novelist and screenwriter. He is known for his work in the horror and science fiction film genres, with such films as '' The Wolf Man'' and '' Donovan's Brain'' (the l ...

's ''

Curucu, Beast of the Amazon ''Curucu, Beast of the Amazon'' is a 1956 American adventure/monster film, directed and written by Curt Siodmak and starring John Bromfield, Beverly Garland and Tom Payne. The title creature is pronounced "Koo-Ruh-SOO" ( pt, Curuçu). The film wa ...

'' which was being filmed in rural Argentina, and in 1959 starred in Al Ghiu's comedy picture '' Comendo de Colher''. Del Fuego had a final role, which went uncredited, in Robert Day's ''

Tarzan and the Great River ''Tarzan and the Great River'' is a 1967 adventure film starring Mike Henry in his second of three film appearances as Tarzan. The film was produced by Sy Weintraub and Steve Shagan, written by Bob Barbash (from a story by Barbash and Lewis Ree ...

'' in 1967 before she was murdered by a fisherman that year whom she had threatened to denounce for

overfishing Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish (i.e. fishing) from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e. the overexploitation of the fishery's existing fish stock), resulting in th ...

Legacy

Her life was portrayed in the 1982 film, ''Luz del Fuego'', directed by

David Neves David Neves (14 May 1938 – 23 November 1994) was a Brazilian film director and screenwriter. He directed nine films between 1964 and 1988. He was a member of the jury at the 20th Berlin International Film Festival in 1970. Selected filmog ...

and featuring

Lucélia Santos Maria Lucélia dos Santos (born May 20, 1957) is a Brazilian actress, director and producer. She received international acclaim for her leading role in the 1976 Rede Globo telenovela '' Isaura, The Slave Girl'', broadcast in over 80 countries.

in the lead role. In November 2013, a

lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

documentary titled ''A Nativa Solitária'' was found by the Espírito Santo Public Archive and restored by it. Because of her courage to face the prejudice of her time with regard to nudity, and for pioneering the creation of the first naturist club in Brazil, her birth date, February 21, is remembered and celebrated among Brazilian naturists as "Day of Naturism".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fuego, Luz del 1917 births 1967 deaths Assassinated Brazilian people Brazilian ballerinas Brazilian feminists Brazilian people of Italian descent Social nudity advocates People from Cachoeiro de Itapemirim