Snake charner. Maluá woud have been born in an Amazon tribe and moved to Bom Conselho, in Pernambuco when she was only one year old. She lived many years of her life in the jouvenile court, in orphanages and working in family houses. It was with one of those families that she moved to Rio de Janeiro in the late 1940s. She was still a teenager when she met the artist Luz del Fuego, who got enchanted with Maluá and took her to live in her house. Luz taught her how to deal with snakes in order to perform with them. In 1953, she left Luz house and acted in the Italian film "Yalis, a Flor Selvagem", with Vanja Orico. Maluá then Maluá started touring alone throughout the country, presenting her snake dance shows in many circuses, such as Real Palacios and Circo Águias Humanas, both ran by Dali Palacios. From 1953 until 2012, she was a non-stopping artist in circuses, theaters and night clubs in Brazil and South America. When she retired she went to live in Florianópolis, in the State of Santa Catarina.

Text: Alberto de Oliveira.