Thousands of Brazilians flooded the hometown of late country music star Marilia Mendonca Saturday, paying an emotional tribute to the beloved songstress of sorrow and strong women after she was killed in a plane crash at age 26.
Mendonca, a Latin Grammy-winning superstar of Brazilian “sertanejo” music, died with four other people Friday when a small plane carrying her to a concert crashed in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais.
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Her body was flown Saturday to the central city of Goiania, her home, where huge crowds of distraught fans lined up to file past her white-lined casket before she was laid to rest.
Known for her soaring voice and heartrending songs, Mendonca managed to break into a country music scene long dominated by men and machismo.
She was a leading figure in a burgeoning sub-genre known as “feminejo,” or sertanejo music by women.
But her massive fan base included men and women alike.
Many mourners outside the stadium where the wake was held could barely find words to describe their feelings.
“It’s an emotion so strong we don’t even know how to express it. It’s an immense pain, for all Brazilians,” 22-year-old Matheus Alves told AFP.
“It was a tremendous loss. It’s such a blow I don’t even have the words to explain it,” said 16-year-old student Gustavo Lacerda, before breaking into one of Mendonca’s songs, “Eu Sei de Cor” (I Know it By Heart).
Fans started lining up at dawn outside the 15,000-capacity arena, where large floral arrangements arrived in a steady stream.
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Some 100,000 people were expected to attend, said Goias state Governor Ronaldo Caiado.
