Flordelis

Origin

Rio de Janeiro, RJ

Years active

2010–2021

Genres

gospel music, christian music

Instruments

vocals

Biography

Flordelis dos Santos de Souza is a Brazilian singer, pastor, and former politician who rose to national prominence through her social work and subsequent career in gospel music. Born and raised in the Jacarezinho favela in Rio de Janeiro, she became involved in social causes during her youth, working with at-risk children and adolescents. Her extensive history of adopting children from impoverished communities gained significant media attention, eventually inspiring the 2009 biographical film Flordelis - Basta uma Palavra para Mudar.

Following the release of the film, she signed with the prominent evangelical record label MK Music, establishing herself as a notable recording artist within the Brazilian Pentecostal movement during the 2010s. Albums such as Questiona ou Adora and A Volta por Cima propelled her musical career forward, while she simultaneously expanded her public profile into politics. In 2018, she was elected as a federal deputy for the state of Rio de Janeiro representing the Social Democratic Party (PSD).

Her career and public life collapsed in 2019 following the assassination of her husband, pastor Anderson do Carmo. Subsequent police investigations implicated Flordelis and several of her children in the murder plot, leading to her indictment by the public prosecutor's office. In 2021, she was stripped of her parliamentary mandate for breach of parliamentary decorum, expelled from her party, and subsequently arrested and convicted for her role in her husband's death.