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Samba singer Elza Soares, whose meteoric rise from favela to stardom was later marred by a scandalous affair with one of Brazil’s most famous football stars, died Thursday at her home in Rio de Janeiro. He was 91 years old.
His death was announced recently. A statement from the official Instagram accountwhich added that he was “singing to the end.”
With her beautiful features that draw comparisons to Eartha Kitt and her harsh voice reminiscent of Louis Armstrong, Ms. Soares became one of the few Black female singers in Brazil. movies On television in the 1960s and 70s.
First album “Se Acaso Vocto ChegasseReleased in 1960” (“If You Stop”), it introduced scat singing to samba. Second, “A boss black” (1961) was blatantly lacking in bossa nova. Instead, he promoted the samba genre popular in favelas, thereby restoring the African origins of a sound whose international success stemmed from taking the drums of samba and adding complex jazz harmonies.
As his fame grew, he remained true to his roots. He liked to tell reporters, “I never left the favela,” and would often end his programs by thanking the audience for “every breadcrumb my kids ate.”
Such talk was almost unheard of in Brazil in the 1960s; Despite the wide gap between rich and poor here and a larger Black population than in any country outside of Nigeria, it was considered rude to discuss issues of poverty and race publicly.
RCA Records refused to offer him a contract after learning he was Black, and he spent years singing at nightclubs in Copacabana before signing to Odeon Records in 1960, where he began a long recording career with a cunning—and sometimes not-so-subtly—punishing edge. . Brazilian music.
But back in the 1980s, he was perhaps best known as his wife, better known as the football star. Manto Garrinça – He is considered second only to Pelé in Brazil, rather than his music. It was a national scandal when Garrincha left his wife and eight children to marry Miss Soares. He was widely humiliated and labeled as a home wrecker. Angry fans pelted and even fired at their homes in Rio.
Long after her husband’s death, Ms. Soares made an unexpected comeback, embracing younger composers and producers who were just beginning to explore her music until the early 2000s. Their new songs were more direct than their previous songs in addressing social issues, openly advocating for the rights of blacks, gays, and especially women.
Elza Gomes da Conceição was born on June 23, 1930, in Rio de Janeiro’s Padre Miguel slum. His mother, Rosaria Maria da Conceição, was a laundress; his father, Avelino Gomes, was a bricklayer who played guitar and loved samba music.
When she was 12, her father forced her to marry Antônio Soares of Lourdes; She was a 21-year-old widow and mother of five children.
She said it was a desperate need to buy medicine for a sick child that prompted her to take a chance at singing on a popular radio talent show at the age of 15. She showed up in a ponytail and a dress she had borrowed from her mother and surrounded her. Safety pins. She almost laughed offstage until the show’s host, Ary Barbosa, asked her what planet she was from. He disarmed her with his reply: “Same planet as you – Planet of Hunger.”
“At that moment, everyone who was laughing took their seats and everyone fell silent. I finished the song and Ms. Soares hugged me in a 2002 television interview saying, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, right now a star is born’.
Her singing career took off and she began appearing in movies and on television. She was one of the few Black Brazilian women to rise to stardom at the time.
Her career, however, was overshadowed by her fiery love affair with Manuel Francisco dos Santos, soon known as Garrincha. Their romance began at the 1962 World Cup in Chile, where he represented Brazil as an entertainer and where his career may have taken a very different turn: He also met Louis Armstrong, who invited him to tour the United States. instead he chose to follow his heart and return to Brazil with Garrincha. This move would have disastrous consequences.
Praised by the public and the press, tthat couple They were forced to move to São Paulo and eventually to Italy, where they spent four years. They got married in 1966.
Ms. Soares was pregnant with their son, Manoel Francisco dos Santos Júnior, when the couple returned to Brazil in 1975. By then, Garrincha’s alcoholism was becoming a serious problem. He was driving drunk when he was involved in an accident in 1969 that killed Mrs. Soares’ mother. She beat up Mrs. Soares, who is known for pleading bar owners not to serve her husband. However, their efforts proved futile; Garrincha died of cirrhosis in 1983.
When their son died in a car accident at the age of 9 in 1986, Ms. Soares was devastated and left Brazil. He spent several years in Los Angeles and tried in vain to start an international career.
He thanked Brazilian singer-songwriter Caetano Veloso by including him on his 1984 album for helping him return to music when he was ready to give up.velo”
However, his output was erratic throughout the 1980s and 90s, and by 2002 he regained his footing to record the album “”, connecting with composers and producers from São Paulo’s samba sujo (“dirty samba”) scene.Make Coccix Até o PescoçoNominated for the Latin Grammy Award” (“From Tailbone to Neck”).
In 2016, “A Mulher do Fim do Mundo” (“Woman at the End of the World”) won a Latin Grammy for best Brazilian popular music album.
Ms. Soares is survived by her children Joao Carlos, Gerson, Dilma and Sara and numerous great-grandchildren. His son Dilson died in 2015.
He continued to find success with younger audiences in the new century, working tirelessly as he approached 90, exploring musical styles such as electronic dance music, punk rock and free jazz, and recording albums that fearlessly tackle social issues.
The name of the album “Planeta FomeReleased in 2019 (“Planet Hunger”), he directly referred to how his career began on the radio talent show that would forever change not only his life but also the course of Brazilian music.
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