Actress, singer and writer Odete Lara dies

Actress, singer, and writer Odete Lara died on Wednesday (Feb 4) in Rio de Janeiro from a heart attack. She was among the most prominent names in the New Cinema movement, or Cinema Novo, which marked the production of Brazilian films in the 60's. The possessor of an extraordinary beauty, she became known after hits like Walter Hugo Khuri's Noite Vazia (known in English as Men and Women), 1964, in which she performed alongside Norma Bengell; and Glauber Rocha's O Dragão da Maldade contra o Santo Guerreiro (Antônio das Mortes, as it is known in the UK), 1969.

Born in 1929 into an originally Italian family in São Paulo, she started her career as a model, and participated in the Brazil's first fashion show. On television, she worked in commercials and soap operas, and was also hailed on stage, when directed by Adolfo Celi.

In the big screen, Lara debuted in 1956, next to comedian Mazzaropi in O Gato de Madame (Madam's Cat). This is when she attained international fame. In a career comprising nearly five decades, she performed in 40 films from several phases of Brazilian film history. Married to director Antonio Carlos Fontoura, she was the star in his Copacabana me Engana (Copacabana's Fooling Me), 1969; and A Rainha Diaba (The Devil Queen), 1973. Her last movie was the documentary Barra 68 – Sem Perder a Ternura (Barra 68 – And Tenderness Untouched), 2000, directed by Walter Carvalho.

For cultural producer and former film programmer Fabiano Canosa, “Odete Lara's performance next to Hugo Carvana and Jofre Soares in O Dragão da Maldade contra o Santo Guerreiro is among the grand moments in Brazilian cinema.”

In the 80's, Odete Lara converted to Buddhism and moved to her farm in the mountainous region of Nova Friburgo, in Rio de Janeiro. There, she wrote three autobiographical books: Eu, Nua (Me, Bare); Minha Jornada Interior (My Inner Journey); and Meus Passos Na Busca da Paz (My Strides in the Search for Peace). During her last years, due to health problems, she returned to the city.

In a statement to the press, State Secretary of Culture Eva Doris Rosenthal referred to Odete Lara as “a strong woman who was ahead of her time and always followed her heart. The legacy she is leaving is of utmost importance to Brazilian culture.”

Note: Unless specified otherwise, the English titles in brackets represent the translation of the original Portuguese, and are therefore not official.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira