Analysis: Rita Lee’s closed casket forever gives the benefit of the doubt

Analysis: Rita Lee’s closed casket forever gives the benefit of the doubt


It was as if a triumphant entrance by the singer who seemed to subvert to death could happen at any moment in the spectacular planetarium of Ibirapuera.

OR Rita Lee’s Last Show there was a line at the door. Fans arrived with posters and LPs and some sang, but most of the audience came running and in silence, following the zig zag between the bars so as not to miss a second. Just outside the door, two dozen wreaths graced the main floor entryway with witty messages. “Another star in the sky – Jorge Ben Jor”; “Dear Rita, I miss you – Boninho and Ana”; “Another among the many people you’ve made happy, I love you – Matheus, RJ”; “Lovely Rita, Rest In Peace” Glória Pires, Orlando Morais e Filhos”; “Dear Rita, You Will Always Be Our Old Woman – MTV Brazil”

A few steps and here is the stage, under a dark and mysterious light and in front of a futuristic show scenario. In the center a closed urn, with six gold handles, three on each side, of burnished and waxed pine wood. A beautiful object, placed under the black globe of lights, still extinguished. Friends and family sat down in the VIP area, journalists and cameramen took turns in the press area and the public, with cameras and cell phone lights on so as not to miss a single moment of the presentation, entered through the narrow door that gave access to a kind of fast premium track. There were sobs, prayers, confessions, murmurs, promises, gratitude, and the strange feeling that a triumphal entry was about to happen.

What else could go through the mind of someone used to being surprised by Rita Lee? Who would have ever expected her to write such a memoir in 2016? Who among Mutantes fans saw her leave the group to re-emerge delightfully stonian at Tutti Frutti? Among the fans of Tutti Frutti, who saw you leave the group to re-emerge more pop and planetary alongside Roberto de Carvalho?

Rita’s fault if anyone doubted that her body would really have been delivered and lifeless inside that oppressive capsule one meter sixty high and 50 wide. She would not have been ready to enter the great theater of the Ibirapuera Planetarium, surprising the cries of her fans , singing: “One fine day I decided to change and do everything I wanted to do / I freed myself from that vulgar life, which led you to be close to you.”?

Rita’s closed coffin and subsequent cremation, which only her family could see, gave dreamers the benefit of eternal doubt. None of us have seen the lifeless body of Rita Lee, and her last show, held on May 10, 2023, was not surprisingly in the place that brings us closest to the stars.

Source: Terra

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