Audience says goodbye to Rita Lee at the Ibirapuera Planetarium in São Paulo

The funeral of singer Rita Lee takes place this Wednesday morning (10) at the planetarium in Ibirapuera Park, in São Paulo. The lines of fans and admirers to say goodbye to the artist, known as the queen of rock, started early. Around 10 am, the public began to enter the place where the singer’s body is. On the ceiling of the planetarium, the sky of the day Rita Lee was born, on December 31, 1947, is being displayed.

The singer was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2021 and has since treated the disease. The family confirmed the death on her social media this Tuesday (9). She died at her residence in São Paulo late on Monday night. “Surrounded by all the love and her family, as she always wanted,” the family statement said.

The wake continues until 5 pm. Afterwards, the body will be cremated in a private ceremony, as per Rita’s wishes.

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Luigi Milone Leta, 13 years old, came from Rio de Janeiro with his mother Mariana Milone, 43 years old. “I’ve been a big fan of Rita, for a very short time, about two years, but my life has changed since I met her. I’m not the same person and she opened my mind to a lot of things. I wasn’t prepared to see her like this, but I love her,” he declared.

He says the music Orra my is his favorite, for the “debauchery”. Luigi says he feels inspired by the artist’s free spirit. “Due to her modernity, in such a dark time, during the military dictatorship of 1964, she defied authorities. She can do whatever she wants, for me that is a big influence, even today, it seems that the world is better, we still need a lot of Rita Lee to learn.”

The teenager’s mother, Mariana, says she is proud of her son. “I admire Luigi a lot. Since he was a little boy, he is very fond of art and I encourage him a lot. And he not only likes Rita Lee, but Chico Buarque, Caetano Veloso, who really are incredible composers who have revolutionized the world”, he said to Agência Brasil.

Débora Antunes, 28, who is an athlete, actress and social sciences student, also made a point of saying goodbye. “Rita is part of my identity. It formed part of who I am. She was very important to me in a period of my life, when I read her autobiography. I was in another country and it was a very challenging time. I identified with her a lot, listened to many songs and realized that it empowered me, gave me strength. Who she was represented the side of me that I was sometimes afraid to be.”

Judiciary clerk Luiz dos Reis, 57, remembered the first vinyl record he bought. “It was the Saúde album. I bought it when I lived in Minas Gerais, in Sebastião do Paraíso. I was a teenager. It was an expensive and rare thing, vinyl record was for few. I listened to it several times, until the disc broke, following the lyrics in the booklet”, he recalls wistfully. He describes Rita as a multi-artist who had a great influence on her life. “She put things in my head. To me, she is revolutionary, disruptive, provocative, irreverent, politicized, a feminist symbol.”

Ibirapuera was chosen for the farewell ceremony because it is an emotional place for Rita Lee, called by her the “enchanted forest”.

The singer’s son, João Lee, resumed the message posted yesterday on social networks in which he describes his parents as heroes. “They are the ones who end up defining who we are. For sure, if you ask a child who their hero is, you will have a very good chance of knowing who that child will be throughout life”, he told the press. He said it was a privilege to live with his mother. “I don’t know if I’ve met such a similar person in my life, but I had the privilege of having spent 43 years with her, learning a lot, receiving her values. For me, it will be eternal. I think for everyone.”

João recalled his mother’s many accomplishments throughout her career: concerts, tours, records, scenography, clothing. “It’s crazy how many accomplishments she’s had. But that’s not why she’s my hero, it’s the simplicity, the dignity, the honesty that she lived day by day, month by month. It’s crazy her honesty, dealing with people, understanding people, the way she had to communicate with the public, with the world, she was a very unique person, “he added.

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Rita Lee, queen of Brazilian rock, dies at 75