Narcisa Ribeiro

Living in Vila Rica de Ouro Preto, Narcisa Ribeiro got to experience up close the heyday of the gold rush in Minas Gerais. She was enslaved to the sacristan Diogo Pereira and gained fame for walking around the city “well-cared-for with camel wool skirts and sandals, as if she were a lady.” Between 1748 and 1749, she was the subject of a public inquiry for wearing luxurious clothes, seen as a “scandalous attitude.” She was also condemned for not “attending masses” and for “laughing and enjoying [herself].” We don’t know whether Narcisa Ribeiro was punished nor do we know her date of death, but the fact is that she annoyed colonial society.