Fans mourn Joao Gilberto at Rio de Janeiro funeral

Fans mourn Joao Gilberto at Rio de Janeiro funeral

Fans from around the world are honouring bossa nova pioneer Joao Gilberto, filing past his coffin at his funeral in Rio de Janeiro.

Gilberto’s body is being displayed in an open casket at the entry of Rio’s Municipal Theatre.

Brazil Joao Gilberto
Maria do Ceu Harris looks at the body of her late husband, Brazilian cultural icon, Joao Gilberto (Leo Correa/AP)

Josef Fitz, from Germany, said Gilberto’s art “was exciting. It was a special kind of music, a new kind of music”.

The 88-year-old died of natural causes in his home in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday.

He was one of the fathers of bossa nova music, which gained international popularity in the 1960s.

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