Goiania, Brazil November 7 (BNA): Tens of thousands of fans gathered amid grief on Saturday to commemorate Marilia Mendonca, one of the most famous Brazilian singers who was killed the day before in a plane crash at the age of 26.
The Latin Grammy-winner and four other passengers, including her producer and her uncle, were killed Friday when their plane crashed while flying from her hometown of Mendonca in Goiania in Goiás state to Caratinga, a small town in Minas Gerais north of Rio de Janeiro, it was reported. Associated Press.
Some mourners arrived early Friday night to say goodbye to the country music singer, and they spent the night outside the big gym in Goiania where Mendonca’s party was taking place. People queued for hours on Saturday in the sweltering heat, sometimes sheltering from the sun under large umbrellas, waiting to pass by her coffin.
“She, dead, it doesn’t make sense. Everyone loves her,” said Tania Rodriguez, who was in the crowd with her 11-year-old daughter Rosângela.
Elsa da Costa Oliveira, draped in the green and yellow flag of Brazil and holding three red roses in one hand and a Mendonca CD in the other, spoke of the traits that made the singer so famous: “She is very charitable to the public, women, men, children, young and old… She is… A kind, humble and attractive person.”
Inside the gym, fans were able to catch a glimpse of the singer, who is best known for her feminist engagement, writing about women’s empowerment and denouncing domestic violence. Some collapsed in tears as they passed her open coffin.
The Latin Recording Academy released a statement saluting “a promising young singer/songwriter,” calling her “the voice of a new generation of Brazilian country music.”
“We will deeply miss Marilia Mendonca, but her legacy will continue through her music,” the statement read.
Details about the cause of the accident are still unknown. Pictures and videos on Friday showed the plane lying under a waterfall. Earlier in the day, Mendonca posted a video showing her walking toward the plane, with a guitar case in her hand. She was on her way to a concert.