Rita Lee, legendary brazilian woman musician, composer and founder of pioneering band Os Mutantes has died at the age of 75.

Brazil’s so-called “Queen of Rock” was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2021.

The pioneering artist and feminist icon, who has sold more than 55 million records in her sixty-year career, went into remission last year.

As it became known, she died at her home in Sao Paulo on Monday night.

“At this time of deep sadness, the family thanks everyone for their affection and love,” reads a post on Lee’s Instagram account, where her fans are invited to a vigil at Ibirapuera City Park, one of Latin America’s largest parks.

“The world has lost one of its most unique and incredible people,” her son Joao Li wrote on social media. “What a rich and spectacular life he had! He was admired and loved by so many people,” he added.

Rita Lee’s many fans around the world include King Charles III and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, better known as Lula, who tweeted his condolences to her family.

In his message, he said that “Rita Lee helped change Brazilian music with her creativity and courage” and that she “challenged sexism in both life and music and inspired generations of women in the world of rock and art.”

Source: APE/MEB