She also founded the convent Madre de Deus (1509), considered a great architectural work, where she spent many of her later years, dressed almost as a nun.

Rafaela grew up in a poor family in a favela in Rio de Janeiro called Cidade de Deus, made famous by the 2002 film City of God.

In Peru, a recent investigation has confirmed the existence of forced labour in the context of illegal logging activities in the departments of Ucayali and Madre de Dios which are located in the country's Amazon basin.