Renato Russo

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Renato Russo, born Renato Manfredini Jr. on March 27, 1960, in Rio de Janeiro, was a Brazilian musician and the lead singer of the rock band Legião Urbana. His family moved to Brasília in the early 1970s. At 15, he was diagnosed with a bone disease that kept him in bed for months, a period that helped shape his love of music.

In the late 1970s he played bass for the punk band Aborto Elétrico. After the band split, he briefly worked on solo material before forming Legião Urbana in 1982 with other musicians. Renato became the band’s singer and main songwriter, known for long, storytelling songs such as Faroeste Caboclo.

Legião Urbana became one of Brazil’s biggest rock groups, selling about 25 million albums. Renato wrote songs about love, politics, and identity, including Meninos e Meninas, which openly discussed bisexuality. He later spoke about loving people of all genders.

Renato was diagnosed HIV-positive in 1989. He faced health problems from AIDS and the antiviral treatment. He died on October 11, 1996, in Rio de Janeiro at age 36, leaving a son named Giuliano. His body was cremated, and the ashes were spread at Parque Burle Marx in São Paulo. Eleven days after his death, Legião Urbana ended.

A Brazilian film about his life, Somos Tão Jovens, was released in 2013.