Brazilian Samba Queen Elsa Soares dies – NEWS 360 – WORLD

by time news

Rio de Janeiro: Famous Brazilian samba singer Elsa Soares has died at the age of 91. Known as the legend of samba music and the queen of the Brazilian samba, Elsa died at her Rio de Janeiro residence due to a chronic illness.

Elsa was born in 1930 into a poor family in Rio de Janeiro, the daughter of Gomez Soares, a factory worker and guitarist, and Rosaria Maria, a laundress. Elsa had a troubled childhood. At the age of 12, Elsa Lourdes married Antonio Soares. This was at the insistence of his father.

Elsa received severe harassment from Lourdes. Elsa gave birth to two children when she was thirteen and fifteen, but both babies died. When Lourdes died of tuberculosis at the age of 21, Elsa was left alone, not knowing how to raise her five children.

That was the turning point in Elsa’s life. Elsa started singing in nightclubs and theaters for a living and never looked back. Elsa recorded her first album in 1960 and later became the face of Brazilian music on the international stage.

In 1968, Elsa married Brazilian footballer Garrincha. It was also Garincha’s second marriage. The couple separated in 1977. In 1983, Garincha died of cirrhosis of the liver. Elsa has released 34 albums over a career spanning over 60 years. Elsa was also the voice of the struggle against apartheid.

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