Nancy de Souza e Silva AKA Dona Cici, storyteller, author, master of Afro-Brazilian dance and music and was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  Dona Cici permanently moved to Salvador, Bahia in 1972, after her initiation into the Candomblé Temple of Ilê Axé Opo Aganju. She is one of the most sought-after authorities of Afro-Brazilian culture. Dona Cici worked with Pierre Verger, the French photographer/ethnologist and adopted the son of Bahia from 1988-1996 comparing over 11,000 of 62,000 Verger’s photos from North and West Africa and Brazil.  In 2002- through present day, Dona Cici has been traveling the world (Switzerland, Los Angeles, France, Suriname, Cuba) to share her profound wisdom and in 2018 will travel to Benin, West Africa. She has been working with Viver Brasil since 2002 as its elder cultural consultant. The company is profoundly grateful for her extraordinary love and openness to VB’s innovation of Afro-Brazilian culture while respecting the traditions of her African ancestry. Dona Cici believes that “Africa lives in Viver Brasil.”