The wake of the honorary president of the Portela samba school, Hildemar Diniz, known as Monarco, began this Sunday (12), at the association’s court, in the Oswaldo Cruz neighborhood, in the northern part of the city. The burial is scheduled for 5:00 pm, at Inhaúma Cemetery. Monarco died yesterday (11), aged 88.
“I struggle in the world of samba! Portela laments the death of its Honorable President, Mestre Monarco”, explained the association, in its ‘Twitter’. Monarco had been hospitalized since last November at the Federal Hospital Cardoso Fontes, in Jacarepaguá, west of Rio de Janeiro, to undergo bowel surgery. However, he did not resist the complications of the procedure. The composer leaves behind a wife, son, grandchildren and a legion of fans and admirers.
As reported by the direction of Portela, the verses sung by Dona Ivone Lara in the farewell of Silas de Oliveira in the song “Adeus de um poet” “well fit the feeling that the samba world feels right now. “For us, you wouldn’t have gone now/ It’s painful/ Every samba cries (…)/ It’s sad but it was another samba/ That the world of samba lost!”.
Homage
On Friday (10), Monarco was honored during the inauguration of the Portela Trophy Room, which bears his name. His last performance in public was on the school’s court, where he participated in the October edition of the Feijoada da Família Portelense.
The president of Portela, Luis Carlos Magalhães, as well as the vice-president, Fábio Pavão, the Velha Guarda Show da Portela, the Galeria da Velha Guarda and the entire school board mourned the death, in addition to the Rio de Janeiro governor, Claudio Castro, and of Mayor Eduardo Paes.
“Samba loses one of its greatest expressions. I deeply regret the passing of Mestre Monarco and express my deepest feelings to the Porto family and to the world of samba, to which he dedicated his 88 years of life”, explained the governor. The mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, spoke on Instagram: “My dear friend and godfather is gone. How sad. Thank you for giving me so many special moments. We will always honor your poetry and love for samba and for Portela. You will do it. sorely missed”.
