Leandro e Leonardo were a Brazilian '' sertanejo'' duo. The two brothers (third and fourth of eight siblings), Leandro (born Luiz José da Costa, August 15, 1961–June 23, 1998) and Leonardo (born Emival Eterno da Costa, born July 25, 1963), were from

Goianápolis Goianápolis is a municipality in central Goiás state, Brazil. It had a population of 11,224 (IBGE 2020 estimate) in a total area of 162.38 km2 (2007). The town is famous for its tomato production and as the birthplace of Leandro and Leon ...

History

The brothers were raised in a poor family in Brazil, and from a young age worked with their parents on tomato farms and did odd jobs such as shining shoes. Emival convinced his brother to move to the city, and the two practiced performing songs by

Chitãozinho & Xororó Chitãozinho & Xororó () are a Brazilian sertanejo duo. Chitãozinho is the stage name of José Lima Sobrinho and Xororó of Durval de Lima. Their music, which combines traditional Brazilian '' caipira'' with pop, was instrumental in establishi ...

Roberto Carlos Roberto Carlos da Silva Rocha (born 10 April 1973), often known as Roberto Carlos and sometimes ''RC3'', is a Brazilian former professional association football, footballer. He has been described as the "most offensive-minded left-back in the ...

and

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

with Emival typically singing lead as Luiz sang harmonies and accompanied them on the guitar, then began playing locally in a group called ''Os Dominantes''. After moving to

Brasília Brasília ( ; ) is the capital city, capital of Brazil and Federal District (Brazil), Federal District. Located in the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region, it was founded by President Juscelino ...

, where they lived with their uncle Zé, who arranged work for Luiz as a salesman at a clothing store and for Emival at a pharmacy, while also booking gigs for them. When they began performing regularly as a duo it was as Leandro & Leonardo, the stage names being those also given to the twin boys recently born to the pharmacist Emival was working for. After a few years of local and regional performances, they were offered spots on local television stations, and their first album came out in 1983. However, it wasn't until 1989 that they began to hit big on the Brazilian charts, with their ''Vol. 3'' release. The group became superstars in the early 1990s, selling several million copies of their albums and obtaining a weekly show on Brazilian television. Music by Leandro and Leonardo sold 17 million records. The album ''Leandro & Leonardo Vol. 4'' sold 3.3 million records and is the best-selling Brazilian country music album of all time.

Death of Leandro

After originally seeking treatment for back pain, Leandro was diagnosed with an

Askin's tumor Askin's tumor is a rare, primitive neuroectodermal tumor which arises from the soft tissues of the chest wall, particularly of the paravertebral region. It was first described by Askin et al. in 1979. Askin's tumor is now recognized as part of the ...

, a locally aggressive cancer occurring mostly in adolescents, on April 19, 1998 that had formed on the right side of his chest wall and already grown to the size of an orange. He died 65 days later of

multiple organ dysfunction syndrome Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) is altered organ function in an acutely ill patient requiring immediate medical intervention. There are different stages of organ dysfunction for certain different organs, both in acute and in chronic ...

while undergoing chemotherapy at the Hospital São Luiz in

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

on June 23, following two unsuccessful surgeries to resect the tumor and restrict blood flow to it. At the time of his death the cancer was reported to be

congenital A birth defect is an abnormal condition that is present at childbirth, birth, regardless of its cause. Birth defects may result in disability, disabilities that may be physical disability, physical, intellectual disability, intellectual, or dev ...

, but ongoing research instead points to a carcinogenic pesticide he was exposed to while working at a tomato farm in his youth, later aggravated by heavy tobacco smoking, as the most likely cause. Leonardo continues to record as a solo artist.

Personal lives

Luiz was married twice, the first ending in divorce and the second (to former model Andréa Motta, mother to the youngest two of his four children) in separation shortly before his cancer was discovered. Leonardo has six children, including

sertanejo universitário Sertanejo music (pronunced seʁtaˈneʒu in Brazilian portuguese, or seɹtaˈneʒɵ in Caipira dialect), is a term used to refer to a musical style of Brazil. For some, it is the folk music of São Paulo, which emerged during the Brazilian co ...

singer

Zé Felipe José Felipe Rocha Costa (born on 21 April 1998), better known by his stage name Zé Felipe, is a Brazilian singer and songwriter. Career Growing up in a very artistic family, in 2009, he learned his first guitar chords with his father Leon ...

and actor João Guilherme. The sertanejo duo Pedro & Thiago were formed by Leonardo's son Pedro Leonardo Dantas Costa and Leandro's son Thiago Gonçalves Costa, and performed between 2002 and 2012, as Pedro left music after suffering a car accident.Dupla Pedro e Thiago chega ao fim após um ano de acidente
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Discography

Albums

* 1983: ''Leandro & Leonardo'' * 1986: ''Explosão de Desejos'' * 1987: ''Leandro & Leonardo Vol. 2'' * 1989: ''Leandro & Leonardo Vol. 3'' * 1990: ''Leandro & Leonardo Vol. 4'' * 1991: ''Leandro & Leonardo Vol. 5'' * 1992: ''Leandro & Leonardo Vol. 6'' * 1993: ''Leandro & Leonardo Vol. 7'' * 1994: ''Leandro & Leonardo Vol. 8'' * 1995: ''Leandro & Leonardo Vol. 9'' * 1995: ''Temporal de Amor'' * 1996: ''Leandro & Leonardo Vol. 10'' * 1997: ''Leandro & Leonardo Vol. 11'' * 1998: ''Um Sonhador''

Special projects

* 1995: ''Amigos'' -

Som Livre Som Livre (Portuguese for "Free Sound") is a Brazilian record company that was founded in March 1969 in order to commercialize the soundtracks for TV Globo (its then parent company) soap operas and later expanded to recording studio albums. , it ...

* 1995: ''Leandro y Leonardo en Español'' * 1996: ''Amigos'' - Som Livre * 1996: ''Leandro y Leonardo en Español Vol.2'' * 1997: ''Amigos'' - Som Livre * 1997: ''Leandro y Leonardo Los Grandes Éxitos'' * 1998: ''Leandro & Leonardo Só Para Crianças''

References

External links

Leonardo's official website
* * * {{Authority control Brazilian musical duos Costa family Sertanejo music groups Brother duos Sertanejo musicians