Popular singer Linda de Suza, famous in the 1980s and a figure in the Portuguese community in France, died on Wednesday at hospital in Gisors, Normandy, at the age of 74.
“His son, João Lança, and I have the pain to inform you of the death this morning, at 10:10 am”, of Linda de Suza, announced his agent to AFP.
The singer had been transferred to the emergency room of Gisors hospital on Wednesday morning “for respiratory failure and positive [à la] COVID-19, ”said Fabien Lecoeuvre in a press release.
The announcement of his death sparked reactions in Portugal and France.
“Linda de Suza remains in our memories as an example of determination and loyalty. She was a French icon of Portuguese immigration and therefore an icon of Portugal,” Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said in a statement.
The French Minister of Culture, Rima Abdul Malak, hailed “a unique journey”. “Leaving with her ‘cardboard suitcase’ to conquer her freedom, rising to the pinnacle of glory, she has gone through multiple ordeals,” she tweeted.
Very popular in France in the 1980s, Linda de Suza was moved by the story of her clandestine crossing of the French border with her son and for only luggage a “cardboard suitcase”, an experience which she described in the book The cardboard suitcasereleased in 1984 and sold two million copies.
Queen of variety, Linda de Suza, whose real name is Teolinda Joaquina de Sousa Lança, was born on February 22, 1948 in Beringel, in the south of Portugal.
She had to flee “a tyrannical family” in the very conservative Portugal of Salazar, where single mothers like her were not tolerated.
Linda de Suza remains in our memories as an example of determination and loyalty. She was a French icon of Portuguese immigration and therefore an icon of Portugal.
Between French variety and Portuguese songs, she will sell, mainly in France, millions of records throughout her career.
She filled the Olympia for two series of concerts in 1983 and 1984, subsequently linking broadcasts to promote her autobiography, sometimes alongside her son, João Carlos.
His last appearances on stage date from 2015 to 2017 with the tour tender age.
Of his successes, we note the songs O malhão o malhão, Face to face and A girl from all countries.
Released in 2015, My 40 Golden Songs by Linda de Suza was reissued in November in box set by Marianne Mélodie, label dedicated to the heritage of French song.
With The duty