Singer Gal Costa, legend of Brazilian music with a crystal-clear voice and muse of tropicalism, died Wednesday at the age of 77, announced her press officer. “Unfortunately, we confirm this information,” said Gabriela Carvalhão, without specifying the causes of death.
Gal Costa had to cancel a concert at the Primavera Sound festival in Sao Paulo last weekend after undergoing surgery in September to remove a nodule from the nasal cavity. She had a 16-year-old adopted son.
Born in Salvador de Bahia, she was one of the leading figures of tropicalism at the end of the 60s, along with other legendary singers such as Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso. “I am very touched and saddened by the death of my sister Gal Costa,” tweeted Gilberto Gil, 80.
“Gal Costa was one of the greatest singers in the world, one of the main artists who carried the name and the sound of Brazil all over the world (…) Our country is losing one of its great voices”, reacted President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Instagram.