Captivating Vocal and Performances

The Hidden Treasure of Afro-Brazilian Music

In the heart of Los Angeles, tucked within the rhythms of samba and the soul of a diaspora, lives a woman who is more than a singer. She is a living archive of history, a vessel of resistance, and a guardian of Brazilian Black music.

Sonia Santos is a hidden treasure — but it's time to unlock her.

Though she has sung jazz, blues, and even dabbled in early forms of hip hop, Samba has always been the thread that runs through her life. There is simply no way to witness a performance by Sonia and not be swept into the pulse of Samba — because it is not just a genre for her. It’s identity. It’s ancestry. It’s resistance.

"She brings with her something that goes beyond just singing,"says one admirer. "She brings composers, traditions, and a sense of history. When Sonia sings, she’s not just performing. She’s living."  

California has long been a landing place for diverse cultures, but Sonia brought something rare: a deeply rooted expression of Brazilian Blackness. With her band Brazil, Brazil, and her partner Ana Gazzola, Sonia didn’t just tour the United States — she brought Afro-Brazilian music to Korea, to Asia, to Africa, to the world. Her stage was global.

She performed in a time when Black Brazilian women had to fight for visibility in music. In the late 1960s and ’70s, she stood alongside the likes of Tim Maia, Jorge Ben Kor, and Luiz Melodia — legends who wrote for her — while helping shape the emerging sounds of Brazilian funk and soul. Her song “Poema Ritmico do Malandros” is not just a melody; it’s a poem, a protest, a wake-up call.

“Sonia is from the time of Tony Tornado and Tim Maia,” a fan recalls. “People forget — she was rapping before Brazil even celebrated hip hop. She’s always been ahead of the curve.”

Yet, for all her contributions, Sonia’s work remains under-valued — a name more whispered than celebrated. But to those who know her work, she is a cultural giant. She is someone who has made Los Angeles a more soulful city, who has helped make L.A. a new hub in the African diaspora through music, memory, and presence.

“She’s her own orisha,” someone once said. And it rings true. When Sonia steps onto a stage, she transforms. With a voice full of fire and a presence that electrifies, she brings the audience with her — not as spectators, but as participants in something sacred.

Now, as she celebrates her 80th year, there’s a growing call to honor her legacy. Not just with applause, but with real recognition.

Because Sonia Santos is not just a singer.

She is a movement.

She is Brazil in motion.

She is Blackness in rhythm.

She is the samba that never stops.

written by:

Floriano Regis, Former Vice-Consul of Brazil in Washington DC