Neuma Goncalves, "First lady of Samba", 78

["Deathwatch Central" <cdw@slick.org>]

Tuesday July 18 5:35 PM ET

Brazil's ``First Lady of Samba'' dies at 78 

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Neuma Goncalves, Brazil's ``First Lady of
Samba'', has died at age 78 after helping turn the Rio de Janeiro slum
Mangueira into one of the best-loved samba schools at the world-famous
Carnival parade.

Goncalves, better known as ``Dona Neuma'' or ``Lady Neuma'' of Mangueira,
died of a stroke Monday. She was buried Tuesday as hundreds of neighbors
sang traditional samba tunes and beat drums at her grave.

``It's as if Mangueira had lost a part of itself,'' Elmo dos Santos, the
president of the Mangueira samba school, told Folha de Sao Paulo
newspaper. ``She is a part of our history, she was our first lady.''

Goncalves' father was a founder of the Mangueira samba school in 1928 and
the first president of the group which grew out of the shantytown in
northern Rio and boasted some of Brazil's most famous samba stars, such as
Cartola.

Rio's annual Carnival parade and wild pre-Lenten festivities have since
made the Afro-Brazilian rhythms and bittersweet lyrics about slum life
famous around the globe.

Goncalves herself has been the president of the women's and the children's
units of Mangueira and was a member of the Old Guard of samba musicians
and dancers. She won the title ``First Lady of Samba'' after hosting
Brazil's then First Lady Maria Thereza Goulart at a Carnival parade
practice.

She was a familiar figure at beer joints in the hillside slum and and
invented a unique literacy program that used local swear words to teach
children to read and write.

Goncalves is survived by three daughters, four grandchildren and three
great grandchildren.

Reuters/Variety 





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