Brazil inaugurates statue of music icon Jobim

A statue of musician and composer Antonio Carlos Jobim was inaugurated Monday, the 20th anniversary of his death, on a boardwalk overlooking the Rio beach he immortalized in his “The Girl from Ipanema.”

Crafted of clay and bronze by sculptor Cristina Mota, the monument shows a 30something “Tom” Jobim, as he was known, walking with a guitar over his right shoulder.

The beloved songwriter’s family and local authorities were present for the unveiling and the Terra Brasilis sextet entertained the crowd with “Garota de Ipanema” (The Girl from Ipanema) and other Jobim classics such as “Desafinado,” “Samba do Avião” and “Chega de Saudade.”

The composer’s widow, Ana Jobim, called it “a special and sad day.”

“It’s always emotional and I believe his memory is something that will never be extinguished in the hearts of people, of Brazilians, of Cariocas (residents of Rio de Janeiro),” she told Efe.

One of the composer’s children, Paulo, chose the site for the statue, next to a part of Ipanema beach known as Arpoador, where his father swam and fished as a boy.

Antônio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim, born in Rio in 1927, played piano and guitar, sang and wrote more than 400 songs across a career that spanned four decades.

His songs became hits for a an international galaxy of artists, including Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald and Sting.

Tom Jobim died in New York on Dec. 8, 1994, at the age of 67, after suffering a heart attack while undergoing treatment for bladder cancer.