The Portuguese singer Sara Tavares, who represented the Portuguese country in Eurovision in 1994, died this Sunday at the age of 45 at the Hospital da Luz, in Lisbon, after fighting for more than 14 years against a brain tumor. The Portuguese Ministry of Culture has confirmed the death of the singer through a message on the social network X, formerly Twitter.
"She burst into the public space at a very young age, but the strength of her voice immediately revealed that she was also a notable songwriter," wrote the Portuguese public ministry.
Born in 1978, Sara became famous in 1994, at just 16 years old, after imitating Whitney Houston with the song One moment in time, during her time on the Portuguese version of the program Lluvia de Estellas. That same year she was the winner of the Festival da Cançao, whose victory earned her a ticket to Eurovision. She defended her candidacy with the song Chamar a Musica, for which she obtained eighth place in the European contest.
After passing through Eurovision, Tavares released several albums. In her work she has always honored her Cape Verdean roots, rhythms that took her around the world such as Spain, Germany, Poland, Japan, Canada or the United States. It was precisely during one of those international tours that she was diagnosed with the tumor in 2009.
His most recent album, Fitxadu, was released in 2017 and earned him a Latin Grammy nomination in the Best Roots Album category. His music includes African, North American and Portuguese influences. In 2021, she openly spoke about her bisexuality for the first time. Years before, in 2000, she was the winner of the Globo de Ouro in the category of Best Artist / New Album, becoming the first black artist to do so.
