Gilberto Gil recalls his last conversation with his daughter, Preta Gil
© Getty Images
G ilberto Gil remembered his daughter, Preta Gil, in a conversation he had with reporter Monique Arruda, from the LeoDias portal, during the singer's seventh-day mass, which took place in the South Zone of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Monday, July 28.
When asked about the last conversation he had with his daughter, Gilberto Gil shared: "It was still in São Paulo, because I wasn't with her in the United States when she went to do the last part of her treatment. But here in São Paulo we talked a lot, we joked... We made fun of the happy and funny things in life."
"She really enjoyed this thing of living, playing, making meetings a moment of effusiveness. She was very happy, very deep. At the same time, she always had, since she was little, a certain melancholic tone in her gaze that was as if she had always known how difficult life is," he added.
Next, he was asked what remains of Preta Gil. "It's what she did, the memory, our continued feeling of welcome, her memory... These things remain. For us. For me, as a father, so many small fragments that are not within everyone's reach, but for everyone, it's all this that she meant, that she left, that she was and continues to be."
Still speaking to the press at the same location, Gilberto Gil recalled Preta Gil's two-year battle with cancer. "Everyone knows that Preta went through a long period of adjustment to her departure, to the entire process of leaving. The penny dropped for all of us, especially for her. It took two years. What stands out most in the grief of her loss is the fact that she suffered so much. That's what we feel most deeply. The feeling is a resentment for the fact that she had to endure such a long time. Which, on the other hand, also helped her in her struggle to adapt."
View this post on Instagram
It's worth remembering that Preta Gil died on July 20th, at the age of 50, after a years-long battle with bowel cancer. The singer was undergoing experimental treatment in New York, United States, but ultimately succumbed to her illness.
With her health deteriorating in recent days, Preta Gil wanted to return to Brazil. However, she was unable to return to her home country.
Gilberto Gil's daughter had been battling bowel cancer since 2023. She leaves behind a son, Francisco, and a granddaughter, Sol de Maria.
News to the Minute | 01:11 - 07/21/2025Days after his daughter's passing, Gilberto Gil took to his Instagram page to pay tribute to her, where he also spoke for the first time since Preta Gil's death.
"I've always been proud of you, daughter, and I will be forever," he wrote at the time alongside an old photograph in which Preta Gil appears on his lap.
Gilberto Gil, 83, publicly responded for the first time to the death of his daughter, Preta Gil. The musician made an emotional post on social media, expressing his father's pride in his fellow singer's career. Preta Gil, it should be noted, died on July 20th. She was 50 years old.
Catarina Carvalho Ferreira | 3:03 PM - July 24, 2025Preta Gil's son, Francisco Gil, also spoke out on social media and shared images of the last moments he spent with his mother.
Francisco Gil shared images of the last moments he spent with his mother, singer Preta Gil, who died this Sunday in New York, revealing that he was able to say goodbye to his mother.
News to the Minute | 07:46 - 07/23/2025Read Also: Reactions to Preta Gil's Death. "Her strength was always an inspiration"
