They call her the muse of Rio de Janeiro’s Carnival. She insists she’s a missionary

Standing 9 feet tall, Raquel Potí regularly graces the front pages of Brazilian magazines and newspapers, and on Saturday the artist donned a lavish feathered costume and lacquered her body in gold glitter. It was the latest of her charismatic stilt walking performances that has prompted some media to call her the muse of Rio de Janeiro’s Carnival. During a class outside Rio's modern art museum, she instructed a group of students to lock eyes with a partner.