Elza Soares

Elza da Conceição Soares, born Gomes on 23 June 1930 and known as Elza Soares, was a Brazilian samba singer. In 1999, BBC Radio named her and Tina Turner the Singers of the Millennium. During Brazil’s military dictatorship (1964–1985), she was considered a threat. In 1970, regime agents machine-gunned her home in Rio de Janeiro’s Jardim Botânico neighborhood while her partner, footballer Garrincha, and their children were inside. The blasts destroyed the living room, where the young children were. Soares and Garrincha fled to Italy, where fellow exile Chico Buarque de Hollanda hosted them.

Soares was born in the Moça Bonita favela in Rio’s Padre Miguel neighborhood. Her father, Avelino Gomes, worked in a factory and played guitar; her mother, Rosária Maria da Conceição, was a washerwoman. As a child, she played in the streets, spun tops, flew kites, and wrestled with boys. Despite poverty and hauling water on her head, she recalled a happy childhood. At age 12, her father forced her to marry Lourdes Antônio Soares, also called Alaúrdes. Within a year, she had her first child, João Carlos. To buy medicine for her son, she entered a singing contest on Ary Barroso’s show at Rádio Tupi, earning money for the medicine. At 15, she gave birth to a second child, who died. After her husband fell ill with tuberculosis, she worked at the Veritas soap factory in Rio’s Engenho de Dentro neighborhood. Widowed at 21, she raised four sons and one daughter alone, still dreaming of singing.

At 32, she began a relationship with Garrincha. Brazilian society vilified her, accusing her of breaking up his marriage. She faced shouted insults, death threats, and had her home pelted with eggs and tomatoes. On 13 April 1969, her mother died in a car crash on the Presidente Dutra highway. Garrincha, driving drunk, hit a truck that merged into their lane. Soares, Garrincha, and her daughter Sara were injured; Dona Rosário was thrown from the vehicle and killed. Soares and Garrincha were married for sixteen years (1968–1982). Garrincha’s friends called her a “witch.” She tried to curb his drinking by begging bars not to serve him. They had one son, born in 1976, named Manuel Francisco dos Santos and nicknamed Garrincha Jr. Garrincha died of cirrhosis in 1983, devastating Soares even though they were already separated.

On 11 January 1986, her 9-year-old son died in a car accident while returning from his father’s hometown, Magé. Rain caused the driver to lose control; the door opened and the boy was thrown into the Imbariê River. Soares was inconsolable and considered suicide. She left Brazil, touring Europe and the United States. After years of searching, she was reunited with a long-lost daughter upon returning to Brazil. On 26 July 2015, her fifth son, Gerson, died at 59 from complications of a urinary tract infection. Soares had six children: João Carlos, Gerson, Gilson, Dilma, Sara, and Garrincha. She died at her Rio de Janeiro home on 20 January 2022, aged 91.

In 1958, Soares toured Argentina for eight months with Mercedes Batista. Her first single, “Se Acaso Você Chegasse,” made her popular; she used scat singing like Louis Armstrong, blending jazz into samba, though she later said she didn’t know American music at the time. She moved to São Paulo, performing in theaters and nightclubs. Her husky voice became her trademark. After her second album, *A Bossa Negra*, she went to Chile for the 1962 FIFA World Cup, representing Brazil, and met Louis Armstrong. From 1967 to 1969, she recorded three albums with Odeon, partnering with singer Miltinho: *Elza, Miltinho e Samba* (Volumes 1–3). These albums featured potpourri-style duets, produced by Milton Miranda and Hermínio Bello de Carvalho, and were re-released on CD in 2003 by EMI-Odeon.

In the 1970s, she toured the U.S. and Europe. In 2000, the BBC named her Best Singer of the Millennium, and she performed a London concert with Gal Costa, Chico Buarque, Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, and Virgínia Rodrigues. That year, she also played avant-garde concerts in Rio directed by José Miguel Wisnik. Her Brazilian hits include “Se Acaso Você Chegasse” (1960), “Boato” (1961), “Cadeira Vazia” (1961), “Só Danço Samba” (1963), “Mulata Assanhada” (1965), and “Aquarela Brasileira” (1974). *Elza Pede Passagem* had no major singles but was seen as representative of early-1970s samba-soul. Her 2002 album *Do Cóccix Até O Pescoço* earned a Grammy nomination and featured Caetano Veloso, Chico Buarque, Carlinhos Brown, and Jorge Ben Jor. In 2004, she released *Vivo Feliz* with the single “Rio de Janeiro,” a tribute to her birthplace. Though less commercially successful, the album mixed samba and bossa nova with modern electronic effects, including collaborations with Nando Reis and Fred 04.