Biography
Irlan Figueiredo Passos (Rio de Janeiro, February 5, 1932 – Petrópolis, August 28, 2023), better known as Lana Bittencourt, was a Brazilian singer and actress. Daughter of a military man who was also a poet and composer, Lana had family support for her artistic career. Her Italian grandmother, for example, encouraged her to study operatic singing from an early age. She entered the Faculty of Philosophy, but ended up switching to Literature as she dreamed of working in the library sector at Itamaraty. Meanwhile, she recorded a jingle composed by her father for a trucking company, which got her noticed and led to her first experiences on Rádio Iracema, in Fortaleza, and on TV Jornal do Comércio, in Recife. Returning to Rio, she became a crooner at the Meia-Noite nightclub at the Copacabana Palace, singing in several languages. At the same time, she worked as a freelancer on some programs at Rádio Tupi, until she got her first contract with Mayrink Veiga. In the early 1950s, she recorded her big hit, Se Todos Fossem Como Você, by Tom Jobim. the album Intimamente sold around 350 thousand copies, and she performed shows all over Brazil. In 1954, she recorded her first album, Para Todamérica. Lana went to the multinational Columbia the following year, where she was managed by Roberto Côrte Leal, who was looking for a versatile performer to also record international hits - which led her to be called "the international one" by presenter César de Alencar. She was also known as Diva Passional, due to her emotional performances Her version of "Little Darlin '", by the American group The Diamonds, made her famous, selling 700,000 records in 1957. In cinema, she participated in films alongside Mazzaropi, such as Chofer de Praça, As Aventuras de Pedro Malasartes and Jeca Tatu.