Vange Leonel

For other uses, see Vange (disambiguation).
Vange Leonel
Birth name Maria Evangelina Leonel Gandolfo
Born (1963-05-04)May 4, 1963
São Paulo, Brazil
Died July 14, 2014(2014-07-14) (aged 51)
São Paulo, Brazil
Genres Alternative rock, post-punk
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, journalist, novelist, playwright
Instruments Vocals, rhythm guitar
Years active 1985–2014
Labels CBS, Sony Music Entertainment, Medusa Records
Associated acts Nau
Website vangeleonel.blogspot.com

Maria Evangelina "Vange" Leonel Gandolfo (May 4, 1963 – July 14, 2014) was a Brazilian singer-songwriter, guitarist, journalist, novelist, playwright, beer sommelier, and feminist and LGBT activist. Known for her distinctive soulful, bluesy vocals heavily inspired by Billie Holiday and Janis Joplin, she was famous for her work with post-punk band Nau, which lasted from 1985 to 1989, before beginning a solo career in 1991.

Biography

Vange Leonel was born in São Paulo in 1963; cousin of former Titãs member Nando Reis,[1] her first musical ventures were with the post-punk band Nau (Portuguese for "carrack"), which was founded in 1985. Nau released an eponymous album by CBS in 1987, and also took part in the compilation Não São Paulo, Vol. 2, released by Baratos Afins; however, it would disband in 1989, after plans for a second studio album fell through, and Vange followed with a solo career.

Her first solo album, Vange, was released in 1991 by Sony Music Entertainment, and spawned her most well-known song, "Noite Preta", which was used as the opening theme of the popular Brazilian telenovela Vamp.[2] Another song off the album, "Esse Mundo", would be used as the opening theme for another telenovela, Perigosas Peruas. Her second solo release, the EP Vermelho, came out in 1996 by the independent label Medusa Records, founded by Vange and her domestic partner Cilmara Bedaque in the same year.[3] Bedaque also co-authored numerous of Vange's songs since the times of Nau. Vermelho was not as well-received as her previous album though, and Vange abandoned the musical career to devote herself to literature.

Vange came out as a lesbian in 1995,[4] and since then began to milit toward the gay cause. In 1999 she published her first book, Lésbicas, that was followed by Grrrls: Garotas Iradas in 2001; both were compilations of articles she wrote for now-defunct LGBT magazine Sui Generis from 1997 to 2000. She also wrote for the Revista da Folha, CartaCapital and Mix Brasil, and alongside Cilmara Bedaque she also had a beer-related blog named "Lupulinas".[5]

In 2000 she wrote her first theatre play, As Sereias da Rive Gauche, that was performed in the same year under Regina Galdino's direction[6] and published as a book in 2002.[7] Her first and only novel, Balada para as Meninas Perdidas, was released in 2003.

Her fifth and ultimately last literary work was the play Joana Evangelista, which came out in 2006; a modern-day reimagining of Joan of Arc's life, it deals with the theme of abortion.[8]

In a 2012 interview, Vange stated that she was working on a translation to Portuguese of Djuna Barnes' 1928 novel Ladies Almanack.[9] Since then, however, no further announcements regarding the translation were given.

In mid-June 2014, Vange was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and was admitted to the Santa Isabel Hospital in São Paulo for treatment. The cancer eventually metastasized to her gastric mucosa, evolving to a terminal stage; thus, whatever treatment proved to be unsuccessful, and Vange would die on July 14, 2014.[10] She was cremated and her ashes were buried one day later at the Horto da Paz Cemetery, in Itapecerica da Serra.[11] Her funeral was attended by people such as Marisa Orth, Jean Wyllys, Ney Latorraca and Mauro Sanches, one of her former fellow bandmates from Nau.

Personal life

Leonel met her future domestic partner Cilmara Bedaque in 1986. They lived together from 1995 until Vange's death in 2014.

Discography

With Nau

Year Album
1987 Não São Paulo, Vol. 2 (compilation)
1987 Nau
  • Label: CBS
    •
  • Format: Vinyl
2005 The Sexual Life of the Savages (compilation)

Solo

Year Album
1991 Vange
  • Label: Sony
    •
  • Format: Vinyl, CD
1996 Vermelho (EP)
  • Label: Medusa Records
    •
  • Format: CD

As a session member

Mercenárias

Bibliography

References

  1. ↑ Nau's biography by former member Zique (Portuguese)
  2. ↑ Cantoras do Brasil - Vange Leonel (Portuguese)
  3. ↑ Vange mostra "Vermelho". Folha de S.Paulo, 13 December 1996 (Portuguese)
  4. ↑ A força do arco-íris. Camila Antunes, Veja, 25 June 2003 (Portuguese)
  5. ↑ Lupulinas official blog (Portuguese)
  6. ↑ Vange Leonel estreia peça sobre lésbicas dos anos 20, Marcelo Rubens Paiva, Folha de S.Paulo, 20 June 2000 (Portuguese)
  7. ↑ Vange Leonel lança segunda-feira o livro "As Sereias da Rive Gauche". Folha de S.Paulo, 13 September 2002 (Portuguese).
  8. ↑ Novo texto de Vange Leonel enfoca aborto. Folha de S.Paulo, 2006 (Portuguese)
  9. ↑ "No Brasil ainda tem muito artista dentro do armário", diz Vange Leonel. Paco Llistó and Lufe Steffen, A Capa, 6 February 2012 (Portuguese)
  10. ↑ Morre cantora Vange Leonel aos 51 anos (Portuguese)
  11. ↑ Corpo de Vange Leonel é velado em São Paulo (Portuguese)

External links

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