Nelson Sargento, icon of samba in Brazil, dies victim of Covid-19 at age 96

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The singer and composer Nelson Sargento, one of the main icons of samba and Brazilian popular music, died Thursday at the age of 96 in a hospital in Rio de Janeiro, a victim of Covid-19, confirmed sources close to the artist.

The author of hits such as ‘Primavera’, ‘Agoniza mas nao morre’ and ‘Cântico à natureza’ was diagnosed with the coronavirus last Friday after being hospitalized in the capital of Rio de Janeiro.

The former main composer of Mangueira, one of the most traditional samba schools, had been fully immunized against Covid since the end of February when he received his second dose.

On February 26, Mangueira’s composer received the second dose of the vaccine against Covid-19 at his home. Nelson suffered from prostate cancer years ago.

Born on July 25, 1924 in Praça XV, one of the most traditional neighborhoods in downtown Rio, Nelson Mattos became known in samba as ‘Nelson Sargento’ in reference to the rank he achieved when he served in the Army, between 1945 and 1949.

Since his adolescence, Sargento showed his love for music but it was not until he was 31 years old that he composed with Alfredo Português his first hit ‘Primavera’, considered one of the most beautiful sambas of all times.

‘Agoniza, mas nao morre’, ‘Cântico à natureza’, ‘Encanto da Paisagem’, ‘Falso amor sincero’, ‘Século do samba’ and ‘Acabou meu sossego’ were other of this sambista’s hits.

Among his musical composition partners are other samba figures such as Cartola, Carlos Cachaça, Darcy da Mangueira, João de Aquino, Pedro Amorim, Daniel Gonzaga and Rô Fonseca.

His charisma was also recognized on the big screen where he participated in films such as ‘O Primeiro Dia’, by Walter Salles, and ‘Orfeu’, by Cacá Diegues. He also appeared in the documentary ‘Nélson Sargento da Mangueira’ by Estêvão Pantoja, a documentary that won the Kikito award at the Gramado Film Festival for best soundtrack among short films.