RIO DE JANEIRO — Gal Costa, an iconic Brazilian singer who starred for six decades and was a key figure in the Tropicália movement of the late 1960s, died Wednesday. She was 77.
Costa’s death was confirmed by a press representative to The Associated Press and CNN. No other information was provided. Costa’s official social media channels also shared news of her death.
The singer had been recovering from a nasal surgical procedure for the past three weeks, according to a news release, CNN reported.
Costa was scheduled to perform at the Primavera Sound festival in Sao Paulo last weekend but canceled, according to CNN Brasil. Her next concert had been scheduled for Dec. 17 in Sao Paulo, the AP reported.
Maria da Graça Costa Penna Burgos was born Sept. 26, 1945, in Salvador, Bahia, NPR reported. The northeastern Brazilian state where she grew up also produced Brazilian musical stars Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, Maria Bethânia and Tom Zé, according to the news outlet.
Costa and these musicians moved to Sao Paulo and fused traditional rhythms with psychedelic rock during the 1960s.
Costa lent her soprano voice to songs like “Aquarela do Brasil” (Watercolor of Brazil), “Dindi,” “Que Pena” (What a Shame) and her signature song, “Baby,” The Associated Press reported.
A self-taught singer, Costa said she had “no professional training at all,” during a 1985 interview with the New York Times in 1985. ‘”I didn’t study music, and I don’t read music. I sing by feeling.’”
“Gal Costa was among the world’s best singers, among our principal artists to carry the name and sounds of Brazil to the whole planet,” Luiz Inácio da Silva, Brazil’s president-elect, wrote on Twitter. “Her talent, technique and courage enriched and renewed our culture, cradled and marked the lives of millions of Brazilians.”
Costa and Veloso’s 1967 debut, “Domingo,” borrowed from bossa nova, but by the following year Costa was a featured singer on “Tropicália: ou Panis et Circencis,” NPR reported.
Costa was awarded a Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011, according to the AP.
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