Tens of thousands mourn Brazilian country music singer
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Supported by security guards, Ruth Dias places her hand in the casket that contain the remains of her daughter, Brazilian singer Marilia Mendonca, during a wake at the Ginasio Arena in Goiania, Brazil. One of Brazil’s most popular singers and a Latin Grammy winner, Mendoca died Friday in an airplane crash on her way to a concert. She was 26.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Fans wait in line to pay their final respects to Brazilian singer Marilia Mendonca, during a wake at the Ginasio Arena in Goiania, Brazil. One of Brazil’s most popular singers and a Latin Grammy winner, Mendoca died Friday in an airplane crash on her way to a concert. She was 26.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Two people hug each other as fans wait in line for access to the wake of Brazilian singer Marilia Mendonca, in front of the Ginasio Arena in the city of Goiania, Brazil. One of Brazil’s most popular singers and a Latin Grammy winner, Mendonca died on Friday, Nov. 5, in an airplane crash on her way to a concert in the southeastern Brazilian of state Minas Gerais. Mendonça was 26 and performed country music in Brazil called sertanejo.
GOIANIA, BRAZIL >> Struck with grief, tens of thousands of fans gathered Saturday to pay tribute to Marília Mendonça, one of Brazil’s most popular singers who was killed a day earlier in an airplane crash at age 26.
>> RELATED: Brazilian singer and Latin Grammy winner, 26, dies in plane crash
The Latin Grammy winner and four other passengers, including her producer and uncle, perished Friday when their plane crashed while flying from Mendonça’s hometown of Goiania in Goias state to Caratinga, a small city in Minas Gerais state north of Rio de Janeiro.
Some mourners arrived as early as Friday night to bid farewell to the country music singer, spending the night outside the large gymnasium in Goiania where Mendonça’s wake was held. People stood in lines for hours Saturday in the sizzling heat, at times taking shelter from the sun under large umbrellas, waiting to pass by her coffin.
“Her, dead, it doesn’t make sense. Everyone likes her,” said Tania Rodrigues, who was in the crowd with her 11-year-old daughter, Rosangela.
Ilsa da Costa Oliveira, wrapped in Brazil’s green and yellow flag and holding three red roses in one hand and a CD of Mendonça in the other, spoke of the traits that made the singer so popular: “She is very charitable to the public, to women, to men, children, young people, old people … She’s a good person, humble and charismatic.”
Inside the gymnasium, fans were able to catch a glance of the singer, who was known for her feminist engagement, writing about empowering women and denouncing domestic violence. Some broke down in tears as they passed her open coffin.
The Latin Recording Academy issued a statement saluting “a promising young singer/songwriter,” calling her “the voice of a new generation of sertaneja,” Brazil’s country music.
“Marília Mendonça will be sorely missed, but her legacy will live on through her music,” the statement said.
Details about the cause of the accident remained unknown. Photographs and videos Friday showed the plane lying just beneath a waterfall. Earlier in the day, Mendonça had posted a video showing her walking toward the plane, guitar case in hand. She was on her way to a concert.
