A FAREWELL TO A TITAN

Brazil's pop-rock scene suffers a severe blow with the tragic death of Marcelo Frommer, who was a member of "Titâs", one of the nation's biggest rock bands.

ast June 11th rock guitarist Marcelo Frommer left his São Paulo home to go jogging a little after it got dark, at around 6:30 PM. Due to the energy consumption restraints that plague Brazil, there were no public lights on, so visibility was limited. As he attempted to cross the street, a speeding motorcycle ran over him and left without attempting to offer any help - a typical hit-and-run situation.

Frommer fell on the floor and hit his head on a curb.

For thirty minutes, as ambulances rushed through the large city's chaotic rush-hour traffic(where traffic can be worse than in New York, believe it or not), Frommer lay on a puddle of his own blood and was finally taken to nearby Hospital das Clinicas, where he went into a deep coma neverto wake up, despite of the valiant efforts of his doctors, who tried their best to save the musician's life

Last Wednesday, he was sadly pronounced brain-dead, to the grief of millions of Brazilian fans.He was 39 years old.

As of this writing, São Paulo police has no clue on who was riding the motorbike that prematurely killed the musician.

According the Brazilian press, the biker fled into the darkness, and the few eyewitnesses were unable to get a description or a license plate number.

As of this writing, São Paulo police has no clues on who is responsible for Marcelo Frommer's early demise.

His band, The "Titãs"(The Titans), founded almost twenty years ago, is one of Brazil's most popular rock groups .Over the eighties and nineties, they scored an enourmous number of hits, such as "Comida"(Food,later recorded by diva Marisa Monte), "Marvin", "Go Back" and many others. Their live concerts have always been sold out, and their popularity crosses generational barriers - their fans include teenagers who grew up with the MTV specials(one of the band's biggest-selling albums to date is their MTV Unplugged) and people on their twenties or even thirties who have been following the band ever since their debut single, "Sonifera Ilha" (something like "Sleepy Island").

Upon receiving the confirmation of Frommer's brain death, his immediate family looked beyond their grief and corageusly set an example by agreeing to donate the musician's organs.

His surviving bandmates, plus former Titâs member Arnaldo Antunes(who quit the band a few years back but continues to collaborate with them in compositions) issued a statement to the press shortly after Frommer's passing was confirmed:

"Our brother Marcelo Fromer is dead. Marcelo was for us a permanent giver of happiness.It is impossible for us to express in words the importance that he had not only in our music but in the lives of every one of us. Just as his organs will continue to live in other peoples' bodies, his art will continue to live in the music and in the spirit of the Titâs."

Many of you might be asking why the man who ran him over fled the scene of the accident. In my opinion, he did so because of Brazil's harsh and often unfair traffic laws.

In that country, when there is an accident such as the one that cost Marcelo Frommer's life, the driver is always considered guilty, regardless of the circumstances that lead to it.Even if one stops and rescues the victim, he or she faces imprisonment and prosecution, and that is definitely not encouraging for drivers to help victims in life-threatening accidents.

Marcelo Frommer's passing is the second blow to Brazil's pop scene in recent months.

Earlier this year, Paralamas do Sucesso leader Herbert Vianna suffered a tragic air accident near Rio de Janeiro that killed his wife and left him paraplegic. According to that band's website, they are back to practicing, but have no idea as of when they will get back to business.

Ironically, the two bands (Titas and Paralamas) frequently shared the stage, playing together as a 11-piece band.

Will Titâs go on without Frommer? My guess would be that they will, once they take enough time to grieve their friend's loss. Not only does their press statement indirectly point to that ( "...his art will continue to live in the music and in the spirit of the Titâs."), but over the years they have survived crucial line-up changes, such as Arnaldo Antunes' defection.

In the meantime, however, it is indeed a sad moment for Brazilian rock.