Portugal’s president evoked the singer Linda de Suza, who died on Wednesday at 74 years old, as “an example of determination” and “a French icon of Portuguese immigration and, therefore, an icon of Portugal”.
Linda de Suza, who emigrated in 1970 to France, where she made a career in music, died today, at 74, victim of Covid-19.
In a note published on the official website of the Portuguese presidency, the head of state says that “Teolinda de Sousa Lança, who became known artistically as Linda de Suza, was an emblematic figure in many ways”.
“She remains in our memory as an example of determination and fidelity. She was a French icon of Portuguese immigration and therefore an icon of Portugal. To her son and grandchildren I offer my heartfelt condolences,” adds Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
In this message of regret, it is emphasised that Linda de Suza accompanied “one of the largest waves of Portuguese migration”, to emigrate to France in 1970, where “she sought better luck”.
She arrived in France “already a mother” and there she would become “the Portuguese” par excellence, “given her success as a singer from the end of the 70s, which gave her gold and platinum records and concerts at the Olympia”, in Paris.
Linda de Suza “always kept explicit, in the many albums and singles she recorded, the references to her country of origin and her personal odyssey”, symbolised in the expression “”mala de cartão” (cardboard suitcase)”, the note adds.
Born in 1948 in Beringel, in the district of Beja, Alentejo, Linda de Suza made her debut as a singer at the restaurant Chez Loisette, in Saint-Ouen, about 6.5 kilometres north of Paris, where she was discovered by the composer André Pascal (1932-2001) who later introduced her to the composer Alex Alstone (1903-1982).
The next step was a television appearance on Michel Drucker’s “Rendez-Vous du Dimanche”, where she performed the song “Un Portugais” (Vine Buggy/Alex Alstone), whose single went platinum in France in 1979.
The singer signed, in the meantime, a contract with record label Carrere, after being refused by Barclay, and the tone of her career was set with “Um Português (Mala de Cartão)”, in which she sang the laments of homesickness of those who left the country, followed by the single “Uma moça chorava” (A girl was crying).
Linda de Suza became the singer of the Portuguese emigrant community, singing about their difficulties and their homesickness, in themes such as “J’ai deux pays pour un seul coeur” or “La Symphonie du Portugal”. In her repertoire she has also included popular songs such as “Lírio Roxo” (Purple Lily) and “Malhão, Malhão” , and recorded “Coimbra/Avril au Portugal”.
The singer performed in Portugal in 1979 and continued to break sales records in the 1980s, publishing the album “Amália/Lisboa” and ‘singles’ such as “Canta Português”, “L’Etrangère” or “Comme Vous”.
Her story was adapted for television in a miniseries entitled “Mala de Cartão” (1988), starring Irene Papas (1919-2021).
Linda de Suza went through personal setbacks that were echoed in the press: in 2010, she made public her financial difficulties and accused her partner of stealing her identity; at the time, she claimed she was living on about 400 euros a month. However, she returned to the stage and, between 2014 and 2017, she toured several times.
In 2020, she presented a new project, “Postais de Portugal” (Postcards from Portugal), with which she was preparing a new tour that the Covid-19 pandemic forced her to cancel.
