Maria Lira Marques(Araçuaí, 1945) is an artist, researcher, and cultural activist from Vale do Jequitinhonha, Minas Gerais. Since childhood, she has been interested in ceramics, following the work of her mother and other artisans in the region. Her first exhibition took place in 1975 at SESC Pompeia, in São Paulo, and since then she has presented works at institutions in Brazil and abroad. Her production integrates natural pigments into the sertanejo landscape and, since the 1990s, includes the Bichos do Sertão cycle, a vast bestiary of imaginary animals. At the same time, she has played an important role in defending the artists and artisans of the Vale, in collaboration with Frei Xico, with whom she created the Araçuaí Museum in 2010 and led the Trovadores do Vale choir, dedicated to the region's popular songbook.