Singer Paula Ribas, known as the “Queen of the Twist” in the 1960s, has died.

Singer Paula Ribas, 91, nicknamed the “queen of twist,” died on Tuesday in the Cascais hospital where she was hospitalized, her husband, musician Luis N’Gambi, told Lusa news agency.

Singer Paula Ribas achieved success in the 1960s in Portugal with hits such as “Vamos Dançar o Twist”, in which she was called the “queen”, and in 1970 she went to Brazil, where she stayed for 20 years.

Paula Ribas, born Ilidia Diaz Ribas, was born in Faro on February 23, 1942, and made her debut in 1952 on the radio program “Ouvindo as Estrelas.”

The niece of the actress Virginia (1850-1922), she studied piano and solfeggio at the National Conservatory, where she was a student of Campos Coelho and Marieta Amstad.

Composer Carlos Nóbrega y Sousa, a family friend, encouraged her to switch from classical music to light music, and at the age of 17 she took part in a new talent competition run by the then National Broadcasting Company.

The singer built her career on songs such as “Isto é Lisboa”, “Ai Algarve”, “É Assim a Madeira” and “Ruas da Minha Cidade”.

In 1965, he signed a contract with the Alvorada record company and recorded several versions of great international hits, adapted by Antonio José, who later worked with Marco Paulo.

In the theater it was a “national attraction” of the magazine “E Viva o Velho” (1966), which included, among others, António Murão (1935–2013), Camilo de Oliveira (1924–2016) and Io Apolloni, Luisa Durao (1899 -1977) and Costinha (1896-1976).

In this magazine he performed the hit “Maria Lisboa” by Eduardo Damas and Manuel Payan. In the next magazine “Ri-te, Ri-te” he stood out with the song “Quatro Estações” by José Mesquita.

In film, he starred alongside António Calvario in Constantino Estevez’s O Amor Desceu de Paraquedas (1968) and Férias em Portugal alongside Dalida (1933–1987) and Alberto Cortés, a film that was never shown publicly. He also appeared with Madalena Iglesias, António Silva and Tonicha in Constantino Estevez’s Sarillo de Fraldas (1967).

Ribas signed a contract with the Spanish record company Belter, which he represented at song festivals in Benidorm, Malaga, Las Palmas and Ourense in Spain.

In the early 1970s, Paula Ribas traveled to Sao Paulo, Brazil, where she was featured in the program “Caravela da Saudade” on TV Tupi.

Ribas debuted in Brazil with 20 albums and performances in 17 countries, recording and singing in several languages.

In 1970 he participated in the International Song Festival of Rio de Janeiro with the song “Canção da Paz Para Todos Nós” by Francisco Nicholson and Jorge Costa Pinto.

She returned to Brazil in 1972, when she settled in São Paulo, working at the restaurant Avril au Portugal.

In 1974, he recorded the album “Fados Brasileiros” with compositions and poems by Vinicius de Morais, Cecilia Meireles, Chico Buarque, Caco Velho, Chico Alves, Caetano Veloso and Dorival Caimmi and others, followed by “Portugal Hoje”. composed only on José Afonso’s version of themes in collaboration with the musician Luis N’Gambi, whom he married in Angola.

The singer led the cast of the musical “Brasil em Três Tempos”, which ran for 18 months on the stage of the Hotel Nacional in Rio de Janeiro, followed by a tour of Brazil with the show “Navegar É Preciso”, which gave rise to the album of the same name.

In 1981 he recorded the album “Tudo Isto É Fado” also with Luis N’Gambi, with whom he also recorded the anthology album “Angola – Folclore e Canções Tradicionais” to demonstrate the musical similarities between samba and semba rhythms.

In Portugal, he recorded two albums with the Discossete record company, which included hits such as “Amar Você”, “Eu e Você” and “Chuvas de Verão”.

In January 2015, Paulo Ribas and Luisa N’Gambi were honored in Lisbon, at Chapiteau, with the participation of the poet Ricardo Maria Louro.

The singer returned to Portugal in 1989 and until recently performed every week at the Restaurante da Nini in Lisbon.