Nara Leão

Nara Lofego Leão was a Brazilian singer and a key figure in the Bossa Nova and MPB (Música Popular Brasileira) movements. She was born on January 19, 1942, in Vitória, Espírito Santo. Her father gifted her a guitar at the age of 12 to help her overcome her shyness, and she began taking lessons from notable musicians such as Patricio Teixeira and Solon Ayala. Nara Leão's professional music career began in 1963 after years of performing as an amateur. She toured with Sérgio Mendes and soon became known as "the muse of Bossa Nova." In the mid-1960s, as Brazil's political climate became more turbulent, Nara Leão's music took on a more politically charged tone, culminating in her participation in the show Opinião in 1964. She released notable albums such as Opinião de Nara (1964) and Nara Leão (1968). In 1968, Nara Leão contributed to the influential album Tropicália: ou Panis et Circenses, performing the song "Lindonéia." After a period of living in Paris and focusing on her family in the 1970s, she returned to music in 1979 after being diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. In the mid-1980s she released one of her most popular albums, Garota de Ipanema (1986). She continued to create until her passing on June 7, 1989, in Rio de Janeiro.