Gilberto Gil speaks for the first time about Preta's death: 'Trying to get used to the absence'

Gilberto Gil is 'still trying to get used to the loss' of his daughter Preta Gil , who passed away on July 20, at the age of 50, due to bowel cancer . The revelation was made in a report shown on Fantástico , this Sunday, 10, Father's Day.

"We are naturally sad. We are still trying to get used to the loss and the absence. Preta was a very lively girl, very intense, in the emotional sense, but at the same time she had been suffering for a long time," began the 83-year-old singer.

Preta was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2023. The following year, the disease spread to other organs until the singer decided to seek experimental treatment in the USA.

Gil also said that the outpouring of affection from the public has also helped him. "Death is a part of life, and we move on, right?! [...] There's a balm, something that comforts us a little, that helps us endure the pain and suffering of loss. With Preta, we had, in a way, time to get used to the idea [of death]. The diagnosis was very hard right away, and our expectations of her recovery were low," he explained.

"She lived a life that taught us so much. It showed us directions, choices to make, values to cultivate. She was enthusiastic about the idea of living so that life would be better—for her and for everyone else," Gil said. That's what remains of her, besides the longing," he concluded.

What happened to Preta Gil?

Singer Preta Gil died on Sunday, July 20, 2025, at the age of 50, in New York, USA. As her team reported to Terra , the singer fell ill on the way to the airport. She was scheduled to return to Brazil. An ambulance was called, but she died before reaching the hospital.

The singer was diagnosed with colon cancer in January 2023, after feeling ill at home and discovering a tumor in her rectum. In an interview with Ana Maria Braga's show, Mais Você (Globo), that year, Preta explained that she went to the hospital after feeling blood running down her legs.

In May 2025, Preta traveled to the United States, where she began a new treatment, after exhausting all available options in Brazil . Despite her trips to and from the hospital, the singer remained optimistic. "I'll return cured, God willing," she said on Domingão com Huck before leaving the country.

Gilberto Gil's daughter with businesswoman Sandra Gadelha, Preta left behind Francisco Gil, 30, as her heir, the result of her relationship with Otávio Muller . Her son is a member of the musical group Gilsons and follows in the family's musical talent.

The body of Preta Gil (1974-2025) arrived in Brazil at Guarulhos Airport (SP), was laid out at the Municipal Theater in Rio de Janeiro, and was later cremated at the Penitência Cemetery in Caju, in the Port Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro. In honor of Preta, the city's carnival circuit was named after her.