Luiza Brunet

At the heart of Pantanal, more precisely at a humble blockhouse surrounded by an exuberant and wild nature, was born Luiza Brunet, on May 24, 1962. Daughter of Luiz da Silva, a farmer from the Brazilian northeastern state of Ceará, and Alzira Botelho da Silva, a homemaker from Rio de Janeiro, Luiza is the second daughter of six children: five women and one man. Granddaughter of an Indian, she was raised freely, in total harmony with the fauna and the flora of the region. She had a very poor but happy childhood. Luiza enjoyed playing with dolls and loved waiting at the kitchen, along with her siblings, for her mother's homemade cookies. Years later, she moved with her family to Itaporã, a village in the countryside of Mato Grosso do Sul, where she began attending a public school. When she was 8 years old, she moved with her family to Rio, where she lived in the suburb of Inhaúma. It took a long time for the country girl to get used to the big city. Neighbors made fun of her country girl