RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazilian
Family members reported that Elza Soares, a Brazilian samba singer, passed away in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday afternoon. Artist’s official Instagram account. She was 91.The singer “moved the world with her voice, her strength and her determination,”They added she “will forever be in the history of music and in our hearts and the thousands of fans around the world.”
According to the family, Soares died from ‘natural causes’ but did not give any further details.
Elza Gomes da Conceição was born in June 1930, in a modest Rio de Janeiro household. Before she began singing samba in 1960s Brazil, she moved on to other genres and won the title of “singer of the millennium”In a BBC London competition, 1999.
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She was featured in a documentary last month that paid tribute to Black women who have paved the way for others artists.
“Just like Elza Soares wanted, she sang until the end,”Family members made the statement on Thursday.
In another Instagram post, the family shared that Soares’ wake will be held Friday at the Municipal Theater of Rio de Janeiro and that she will be memorialized at Sulacap Jardim da Saudade cemetery.
The public will not be allowed to enter the burial.
The British Embassy in Brazil paid tribute Soares. TwitterIt was a conversation between the Brazilisn singers and Queen Elizabeth IIDuring one the royal’s visits Brazil.
“In Brazil, in 1968, @ElzaSoares impressed Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II with her voice and presence. A meeting of queens!”It was a tweet. “Rest in peace, Elsa.”
