Elza Soares da Conceição was born and raised in a favela in Rio de Janeiro. Elza was forced to marry at the age of 12 and went hungry alongside her husband.

At the age of 21, she became a widow and went to look for a job in a soap factory. It was at this time, in a young singers contest, on Rádio Tupi, that her talent was discovered. Elza Soares was persecuted during the dictatorship, suffered reprisals from the media and her career had many challenges before becoming our queen of the MPB.

Before passing away, Elza was consecrated as the best singer of the millennium by the BBC in London, an icon of Brazilian culture!

Elza Soares is the representative of CASA 01, which welcomes young people excluded from the family because of their affective sexual orientations and gender identity.