Sonia Delfino born 23 November 1942

                 

Sonia Delfino (November23, 1942- March 20, 2025) is a Brazilian singer who was one of the first to sing bossa nova as well as rock and roll. 

Delfino was born Sonia de Campos Veras in Rio de Janiro, Brazil and was the niece of the singer Ademilde Fonseca, who was well known in Brazil. Sonia was only 9 years old when she won a singing contest at a station in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte. 

Her professional career began in 1955, on the program Clube do Guri, on TV Tupi, in Rio de Janeiro and began recording 78's for the Copacabana label. 

Her first being Uma valsa para mamãe (Emmanuel Jitay) and also released the Bell of Belém version of the Christmas song Jingle Bells, with the choir of Clube do Guri. She received the Revelation Singer Award, from the hands of the governor of Rio at the time, Carlos Lacerda. Then she recorded her first album which included songs such as: "O Barquinho", "Diga que me Ama", "Bolinha de Sabão". This song, which is by the composer Orlandivo, was a great success at the time.

                                    

From 1960 to 1962, she hosted a television program Alô, Brotos! also on Tupi, alongside singer Sérgio Murilo. She recorded three LPs at Philips, Sônia Delfino canta para a mocidade (1960), Alô, brotos! (1961) and Alô, brotos!, vol. 2 (1962). Her biggest hits are the folk-rock Bimbombey (Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore and Mack David), the twist Diga que me ama (Make Believe Baby, by Ben Weisman and E. Lewis, Philips, 1960) and the bossa nova Bolinha de sabão (Orlandivo; Philips, 1963). 

She was considered by many to be the natural successor of Celly Campelo, who had abandoned her artistic career in 1962, but Sônia preferred to exchange pop-rock for a more adult repertoire, including bossa nova. She participated as an actress in two films: Tudo legal, by Vítor Lima, in 1960, and Um candango na Belacap, by Roberto Farias, in 1961. 

Her career came to a halt when she married a Brazilian diplomat in 1970 and settled abroad. It wasn't until her return in 1983 that she resumed her career, performing in nightclubs such as Rio Jazz Club, Au Bar, Vinícius Bar and Mistura Fina, in Rio de Janeiro, and Tobaco Road, in Miami. In 1998, she participated in the recording of two CDs: "O Amor, O Sorriso e a Flor", which were recorded in honor of the 40-year career of bossa nova and singer Roberto Menescal.

In October 2008, Sonia gave a lecture on Bossa Nova at Yale University, in the United States. In 2012, she joined the group Cantoras do Rádio. That same year, she performed with the group at the Raimundo Magalhães Jr. Theater, at the Brazilian Academy of Letters, for the project “MPB na ABL”. The show was directed, written and presented by Ricardo Cravo Albin. Also in 2012, she participated, alongside the other members of the group, in the opening show of the exhibition “Marlene 90 anos”, at the Cravo Albin Cultural Institute. 

In recent years, despite being quite reclusive, she even made presentations at the traditional Cinelândia Carnival ball, in addition to some shows exalting stars of the Radio Era, such as Marlene, Emilinha Borba and Ademilde Fonseca. In addition to her successes on stage, Sonia was a founding partner of the Brazilian Society for the Administration and Protection of Intellectual Rights (Socinpro).

Sonia died in Rio de Janiro on March 20, 2025. She was 82 years old. 

(Edited from Encyclopedia of Brazilian Music & O Dia)