Tono Maria was a South American woman who was displayed at freak shows in London during the early 19th century.
She was an Aimoré woman who was born in the Minas Gerais region of Brazil and eventually moved to London at some point in her life.
Marketed as the “Venus of South America”, Maria was displayed on numerous freak shows throughout the city, where her body scars (which were claimed to signify a sexual transgression she had committed), large figure, lip and ear plugs became objects of fascination for numerous spectators who viewed her.
She eventually moved to London at some point in her life, and was displayed in numerous freak shows around the city.
[1] University at Albany professor Janell Hobson briefly recounted Maria in her book, Venus in the Dark: Blackness and Beauty in Popular Culture, describing how spectators in London took particular note of the scars on her body which nearly numbered a hundred; with each scar supposedly representing a sexual transgression committed by Maria.