Remembering Rita Lee: Brazil’s Queen of Rock passes away at 75

The Death of Rita Lee

The world of music has lost one of its most important contemporary figures with the passing away of Rita Lee, the trailblazing artist and feminist icon from Brazil. Lee, who was also the founder of the pioneering psychedelic-rock group Os Mutantes, died at her home in São Paulo at the age of 75 after suffering from lung cancer that she had famously called “Jair”, a sardonic reference to Brazil’s widely loathed then president, Jair Bolsonaro. Her death has sparked an outpouring of emotion and reverence towards her talents and her contributions to Brazilian music.

A Career in Music Ahead of Her Time

Rita Lee’s music career spanned six decades, during which she sold more than 55 million records, both domestically and internationally. Her career in music began in early childhood with classical piano lessons, but it was her founding of Os Mutantes in 1966, along with Arnaldo Batista and Sérgio Dias, which marked her as an artist ahead of her time. The group became a key part of Brazil’s Tropicália movement, which blended traditional Brazilian music with electric instruments and foreign sounds to create a subversive, LSD-fuelled, and revolutionary sound. According to Lee, they were “light years ahead of everyone else.”

An Artist and Feminist Icon

Lee’s contribution to Brazilian music was at once meteoric and groundbreaking, and her influence on music was not limited to Brazil alone but resonated in the international music scene as well. Kurt Cobain was among her international admirers and met the group during his trip to Brazil in 1993. Lee was also a feminist icon. Her musical and feminist ideals were focused on questioning gender stereotypes and breaking down patriarchal barriers. Her contribution to music was recognized with more than 40 albums and numerous groundbreaking songs that captured the spirit of her times. Lee, the queen of Brazilian rock music, leaves behind a legacy that will continue to inspire and promote liberal values.

Tributes to a Great Loss

The loss of this iconic figure from the world of music sparked an emotional outpouring of tributes and messages of condolences from across the international community. From Pitty, the Brazilian rock singer, to world-renowned musicians, Lee’s profound, unparalleled contributions to music and her pioneering spirit were recognized. “The world has lost one of the most unique and incredible people who ever existed,” said one of Lee’s sons, João Lee, on social media. Many memories and emotions poured in, with many recognizing the strength of the fighter that Lee was.

Fighting for Her Legacy

Despite Lee’s ability to defeat her cancer and achieve remission in 2020, in many ways, her final battle was with Jair, the tumor that she famously named after Bolsonaro. The Brazilian President’s followers were angry that Lee had named her tumor in reference to him, yet in doing so, she highlighted his political and ethical contradictions and flaws. In this time of painful loss, it is essential that we remain focused on the legacy that she left behind, which was much more than her diagnosis, and instead focus on the creative contributions and feminist principles that she embodied.

In conclusion, Rita Lee’s death is an immeasurable loss to the twentieth-century world of Brazilian music and to feminists around the world. She leaves behind a legacy of spirited and courageous music that will continue to inspire generations to come. Even in death, she reminds us how we can use art to challenge social norms. Indeed, Rita Lee successfully and masterfully challenged the music industry’s views about women and forever changed the shape of Brazilian popular music.