Elza Soares’ body is buried in Rio de Janeiro

Singer Elza Soares was buried this Friday afternoon (21) at Jardim da Saudade de Sulacap cemetery, in Rio de Janeiro. The artist died of natural causes, aged 91, on Thursday (20). The information was confirmed by Elza Soares’ team on the singer’s social networks.

The wake was held at the Municipal Theater of Rio de Janeiro, the artist’s body arrived at the place in the morning, and the farewell ceremony took place from 8 am to 10 am, reserved only for family and friends. From 10 am to 2 pm the wake was open to the public, so that fans could say goodbye to the artist.

The transfer to the cemetery was made by the Fire Department car with a route passing through Av. Atlântica, in Rio. The ceremony at the cemetery was also restricted to family and friends of the singer.

Several artists expressed their feelings to Elza Soares after confirming the singer’s death, aged 91, on Thursday afternoon (20). Samba schools also used social media to pay tribute to the artist.

The commentator of CNN, conductor João Carlos Martins, stated that Elza Soares always had a high spirits with the public, even in the most complicated moments of her career.

“This spirit of optimism is part of an artist’s life when he is in front of his audience. Elza symbolized tuning, rhythm and swing. What she meant for the black community is something that not all artists have achieved to this day,” said the conductor.

The Mocidade Independente de Padre Miguel, which in 2020 brought the plot “Elza Deusa Soares” to the avenue, manifested itself a few minutes after the singer’s death was announced.

“You are the STAR! Your people have waited so long to see you again! And reviewed! You saw your independent love going through the Avenue in the most beautiful way possible! We can only thank you for everything. Dismayed! This is our farewell! Thank you Goddess. WE WILL NEVER SUCK!”, announced Mocidade on Twitter.

Career

In recent years, Elza has remained active in the musical world and political militancy. His last three albums were loaded with the feminine theme.

In 2019, she released the album “Planeta fome”, which was a milestone in her career, where she addressed the period in which she lost two children to starvation and she herself almost died.

Before, in 2018, he released “Deus É Mulher” and, in 2015, Mulher do Fim do Mundo.

In all, Elza Soares has released 34 albums throughout her career. His talent was revealed in 1953, when he participated in the program “Calouros em parade”, presented by Ary Barroso on Rádio Tupi.

“I walked in holding my clothes so she wouldn’t disassemble and dragging a very cheap sandal, which was the only one I had, and Ary immediately looked at me with that face that he was going to do something with me”, recalled the singer in the biography “Elza”, written by journalist Zeca Camargo.

“’What did you come here for?’ he asked mercilessly. ‘I came to sing’, replied Elza, thinking it was better not to give in to the jokes. He then doubled the provocation: ‘And who said you sing?’ Another short answer: ‘I, your Ary’”, reads another excerpt from the book.

In 2000, Elza Soares was elected the voice of the millennium by the BBC.

According to the Central Office for Collection and Distribution (Ecad), the singer-songwriter had 864 recordings registered.

Life

Born on June 23, 1930 in the west of Rio de Janeiro, she was married at age 12 to a man ten years her senior, Alaúrdes Soares, and was a mother at 13. Elza lost two of her five children to starvation and became widow at 21.

He met Garrincha in the 1960s, with whom he had a son. They were together for 15 years and, throughout this period, Elza suffered from recurring episodes of domestic violence, reported years later.

Like Elza, Garrincha also died on January 20th. It was in 1983.

The singer was also the samba theme of Mocidade Independente de Padre Miguel, in 2020, with the theme “Elza Deusa Soares”.

In publicizing the song, the school greeted the composer and described her as “incendiary” and “vocal monument”.

“God is really a woman. God is black. / Listen to his word that invades us. / Save the Woman from the End of the World. / Hail Elza Deusa Soares”, concludes the synopsis.