Mendonça (26) was killed in the crash of a small plane near Caratinga, according to the fire department of the state of Minas Gerais. Initially, there was no information about the cause of the crash. In a video published on Mendonça’s Instagram account, she was seen walking towards an airplane with a guitar case in hand. “Concert weekend in Minas Gerais”, it said.
The Brazilian soccer star Neymar, who was considered a friend of Mendonça’s, tweeted: “I refuse to believe it.” Marília Mendonça was one of the best known and most popular singers in Brazil. She had 40 million followers on Instagram and won the Latin Grammy in 2019. Mendonça conquered Brazil with intense and romantic lyrics and melodies. The young woman revolutionized “Sertanejo”, Brazilian country music, which until then had been dominated almost exclusively by men, and sang on feminist topics.
The governor of Mendonça’s home state Goiás, Ronaldo Caiado, expected 100,000 people on Saturday for the memorial service in the “Goiânia Arena”, as he wrote on Twitter. The fans should be able to say goodbye to the popular artist. There is also said to be a procession from the sports hall next to the football stadium of the city of Goiânia to the cemetery, as the Brazilian news portal “G1” reported, citing the city administration. Governor Caiado had previously declared official mourning in Goiás for three days.
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