Singer Cyva Ribeiro de Sá Leite, member of the pioneering female vocal group Quarteto em Cy, died on Sunday 22 October at the age of 85. The singer had been hospitalized for a month at the Casa Rio Botafogo hospital, in the southern area of Rio de Janeiro, and was unable to resist septicemia.
Formed in 1964 by Cyva and her sisters Cynara, Cybele and Cylene, Quarteto em Cy was Brazil’s oldest and leading female vocal quartet. The official debut occurred on June 30, 1964, with a show at the legendary Beco das Garrafas, a nightclub on the Copacabana music circuit, Rio de Janeiro. In the same year, the group released its first LP, “Quarteto em Cy”, and the following year participated in the album “Afro-sambas com Vinícius de Moraes e Baden Powell”, a milestone in Brazilian discography.
In 1966, Cylene was replaced by Regina Werneck, when the Quartet traveled to the United States and, renamed Girls From Bahia, recorded albums, performed in shows and participated in American television programs. His repertoire included versions of American songs in Portuguese and Tom Jobim songs with lyrics translated into English.
Two years later, Cynara and Cybele left the group and, joining Chico Buarque and Tom Jobim, faced one of the biggest boos in the history of song festivals, when they defended “Sabiá” in the final, which competed with the committed “Not to say that I didn’t talk about flowers”, by Geraldo Vandré, a favorite of the university audience. Booed from start to finish, “Sabiá” was considered the winner of the 1968 Brazilian Music Festival. They subsequently released two albums, but without the same success as the group with the other sisters.
Cynara rejoined Cyva in 1972, when the quartet resumed with a new lineup, which included Sônia Ferreira and Dorinha Tapajós. From this new nucleus came notable albums such as “Antologia do Samba Canção” (1975), “Resistência ao Vivo” (1977) and “Querelas do Brasil” (1978), where they continued to explore and pay homage to the musical richness of Brazil . through various collaborations.
Around this time, the group also began a long working collaboration with its male counterpart, the vocal group MPB4. There were three collaborative albums in the 1970s alone, including participation in Fantástico, in a musical friendship that lasted decades.
In 1980, Cybele joined the sisters again, replacing Dorinha, and this lineup remained active until her death in 2014. With the loss of her sister, Cyva and Cynara began to form the group with Sônia and Corina.
The two remaining sisters continued to lead the Quarteto em Cy until recently, also signing the lyrics for the historical rescue of the box set “Quarteto em Cy – Anos 60 / 70 ao Vivo”, released in 2018 with three CDs, containing unreleased recordings of three shows recorded between 1965 and 1975. It was the group’s last release, which continued in shows with Joyce Moreno and MPB4. Cynara died on April 11 this year.
Over the course of more than fifty years of her career, Cyva has been present in all the group’s releases, more than 30 albums both in Brazil and abroad, following the evolution of Brazilian music – from bossa nova to the transformation of samba in the so-called MPB. Its importance and legacy are unparalleled.
In addition to his contribution to the Quarteto em Cy, he also holds a degree in Literature from the FFCH (Faculty of Philosophy and Human Sciences) of the Federal University of Bahia.
Source: Terra
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