Loalwa Braz

Loalwa Braz was a Brazilian singer and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist of the French-Brazilian pop group Kaoma in the late 1980s. She was born in Rio de Janeiro to a family of musicians and started singing and playing the piano at a young age. She performed with some of Brazil's most renowned artists, such as Gilberto Gil, Tim Maia, and Caetano Veloso, before moving to Paris in 1985. There, she joined Kaoma, a group formed by French producers who wanted to create a fusion of Brazilian and Caribbean music. Kaoma's first single, Lambada, was a worldwide hit in 1989, selling millions of copies and popularizing the lambada dance. The song was based on a Bolivian folk tune, Llorando se fue, which Kaoma translated and adapted without permission, leading to a legal dispute and a settlement. Loalwa Braz sang in Portuguese, Spanish, French, and English, and composed and recorded many other songs, both with Kaoma and as a solo artist. She also participated in several soundtracks for movies and TV shows, and performed in prestigious venues around the world, such as the Olympia, the Madison Square Garden, and the London Palladium. She was a member of the Arts, Sciences and Literature French Academy and received the silver medal in 2003. She moved to Geneva in 2010 and continued to work on her music projects until her tragic death in 2017. She was found dead in a burnt-out car near her home in Saquarema, Rio de Janeiro, after being attacked by three men who robbed her house. She was 63 years old and left behind a legacy of music and joy.