Luz Del Fuego

Luz Del Fuego wrapped live pythons around her body during her striptease performances, a spectacle that made her famous in mid-20th-century Brazil. She was a Brazilian activist, ballet dancer, and exotic dancer, equally at ease with full nudity, implied nudity, and topless performances. Her comfort with her body extended beyond the stage; she founded the first naturist club in Brazil on Ilha do Sol, known as the Brazilian Naturist Club.

In the early 1950s, Del Fuego took her naturist beliefs into politics, founding the Brazilian Naturist Party and running for Congresswoman. Her life ended tragically in 1967, when she was murdered by a fisherman she had threatened to denounce for overfishing. She died at age 50, but her legacy as a feminist and naturist pioneer endured. Her black hair and average build were part of her striking stage presence, though the snakes were the true attention-grabbers.