Tuca: the erased Brazilian singer reclaimed

Who Was Tuca and Why Has She Been Forgotten?

Born Valeniza Zagni da Silva in São Paulo on 17 October 1944, Tuca was a singer, multi-instrumentist, arranger and music producer who died on 8 May 1978, aged just 33. Her death was caused by cardiac arrest brought on by inanition — a consequence, researchers argue, of the extreme dieting she endured to conform to the body standards demanded by the music industry. Despite a career that spanned Brazil and Paris, she remained largely erased from mainstream music history.

What Did Tuca Actually Achieve?

Tuca released three albums: Meu eu (1965), Tuca (1968) and Drácula, I love you (1974), the latter widely regarded as her masterpiece. In 1966, during Brazil's celebrated festival era, she performed Geraldo Vandré and Fernando Lona's "Porta estandarte," helping launch Vandré's national profile. She also co-wrote "O cavaleiro" with Vandré, presented at a festival the same year.

How Did Her Exile in Paris Shape Her Legacy?

Self-exiled in Paris from 1971 to escape the repression of Brazil's military dictatorship, Tuca worked with major international names. She arranged the album Dez anos depois for Nara Leão (1942–1980) and produced and arranged La question for French singer Françoise Hardy (1944–2024), co-writing the title track. These collaborations placed her at the heart of a transatlantic musical dialogue — yet her name is rarely mentioned in accounts of those records.

What Does the New Book Reveal?

Researcher Renato Gonçalves analyses Tuca's trajectory in Tuca – A cantora lésbica exilada da história, the debut title in the "Vidas sequestradas" collection organised by César Braga Pinto and published by Editora O Sexo da Palavra. Gonçalves documents how Tuca built a pioneering homoerotic discourse during the dictatorship years, notably in the songs "Girl" and "Sorvete," both composed with visual artist Jeannette Priolli and included on Drácula, I love you. A fluent polyglot and virtuoso guitarist, Tuca often went uncredited for her many contributions — a pattern the book traces from her 1962 debut onward, when the press routinely commented on her body rather than her talent.