Singer Carmelia Alves, hailed as the queen of Brazil's Baiao music, has died, the official Agencia Brasil reported Sunday. She was 89. Alves, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease, passed away late Saturday of multiple organ failure, the agency said.
Born in Rio in 1923, she rose to become a reference and great success of the Baiao musical genre popularised by the late Luiz Gonzaga. Baiao, a rural rhythm from the state of Bahia, caught on through radio in the 1940s and hit its peak acclaim in the 1950s when Latin music swept the United States and Europe.