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São Paulo: Benito Di Paula, Brazil's 'samba-jóia' legend, dies at 84
Brazilian samba icon Benito Di Paula died Sunday night at Hospital 9 de Julho in São Paulo at 84 after about a year fighting cancer. His press team confirmed the death; funeral arrangements are yet to be announced.
Why it matters
Benito Di Paula, one of Brazil's most beloved samba singers, died on Sunday night (October 18) at Hospital 9 de Julho in São Paulo at the age of 84. Multiple Brazilian outlets reported he had been battling cancer for about a year, and his press team officially confirmed the news. Funeral and wake arrangements had not been announced at publication time.
Full report
Born Uday Veloso on November 28, 1941, in Nova Friburgo, Rio de Janeiro, Di Paula rose to national fame in the 1970s with his own style, 'samba-jóia': samba reshaped with romantic, bolero-tinted piano arrangements and his trademark percussive keyboard playing. Hits such as 'Retalhos de Cetim', 'Charlie Brown' and 'Mulher Brasileira' have echoed through Brazilian life for half a century. Particle News tallied his career record sales at roughly 50 million copies.
His son, singer and pianist Rodrigo Vellozo, posted a public tribute, and institutions including the Flamengo football club sent condolences. Notably, Di Paula died on the same night Brazil held its first presidential runoff television debate.
He styled himself a 'sambeiro' and 'pianeiro' (a samba man at the piano); his piano-as-drum-kit approach is credited with prefiguring the 1990s pagode boom.
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