Brazilian samba singer Elza Soares dies at 91

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazilian samba singer Elza Soares has died in her Rio de Janeiro home at the age of 91. Family members announced the news on the artist’s official Instagram account on Thursday. They say Soares died of ’’natural causes.″ Elza Gomes da Conceição was born in June 1930, in a modest Rio de Janeiro household. She became famous singing samba in the early 1960s, before diversifying to other genres, winning her the title of “singer of the millennium” in a BBC London competition in 1999. Last month, she featured in a documentary series paying tribute to Black women singers who paved the way for other artists.