Vange Leonel

Maria Evangelina "Vange" Leonel Gandolfo (May 4, 1963 – July 14, 2014) was a Brazilian singer-songwriter, journalist, novelist, playwright, feminist and LGBT activist, famous for her work with the now-defunct post-punk band Nau.

Biography

Vange Leonel was born in São Paulo in 1963; a direct descendant of Brazilian politician and soldier Ataliba Leonel, who was her great-grandfather, and cousin of musician Nando Reis (known for his work with Titãs), her first musical ventures were with the post-punk band Nau (Portuguese for "carrack"), which was founded in 1985. Nau released an eponymous album via CBS, and took part in the compilation Não São Paulo, Vol. 2, released by Baratos Afins; however, it would disband in 1989, and Vange would follow with a solo career.

Her first solo album, Vange, was released in 1991, via Sony Music Entertainment and spawned her renown hit song "Noite Preta". That track was in turn then used in the soundtrack of the popular Brazilian telenovela Vamp, that ran from July 1991 to February 1992. She followed it up with another album, Vermelho, released in 1996 by the independent label Medusa Records, that was founded by Vange and her long-time domestic partner Cilmara Bedaque in the same year.

Vange came out as a lesbian in 1995, and since then began to milit toward the gay cause. In 1999 she wrote her first book, Lésbicas, that was followed by Grrrls: Garotas Iradas in 2001, a compilation of the chronicles she wrote for the now-defunct LGBT magazine Sui Generis from 1997 to 2000. She also wrote for the Revista da Folha and Mix Brasil.

In 2000 she wrote her first theatre play, As Sereias da Rive Gauche, that was performed in the same year and published as a book in 2002. Her first novel, Balada para as Meninas Perdidas, was released in 2003.

Her last literary work was the play Joana Evangelista, that came out in 2006 and deals with the theme of abortion.

In a 2012 interview, Vange stated that she was working on a translation to Portuguese of Djuna Barnes' 1928 novel Ladies Almanack.

On July 14, 2014, Vange died after a long struggle with ovarian cancer. Her body was cremated one day later.

Discography

• Nau (1987)

• Vange (1991)
• Vermelho (1996)

• Não São Paulo, Vol. 2 (1987 — with Nau)

Featured the songs "Madame Oráculo" and "Sofro"

• The Sexual Life of the Savages (2005 — with Nau)

Featured the song "Madame Oráculo"

Bibliography

• Lésbicas (1999)
• Grrrls: Garotas Iradas (2001)
• As Sereias da Rive Gauche (2002)
• Balada para as Meninas Perdidas (2003)
• Joana Evangelista (2006)