BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Anca Pop, a Romanian-Canadian singer-songwriter, has died after her car plunged into the Danube River. She was 34.
Emergency authorities identified her body after divers found her car late Monday in southwestern Romania. Her sister alerted police after she failed to arrive at the family home Sunday evening. Police said Tuesday they were investigating the death of Pop.
Pop’s style was a fusion of Balkan and mainstream pop. She had a big following in Japan.
She also collaborated with Bosnian musician Goran Bregovic on his “Champagne for Gypsies” album.
In 1987, Pop fled communist Romania with her family, crossing the Danube into then-Yugoslavia where they became political refugees. Months later, they emigrated to Canada.
After communism ended, she returned to Romania. This year she caused a stir by revealing she was in a same-sex relationship, in a society which can be intolerant of homosexuality.
She is survived by her parents and sister.