Leandro e Leonardo

After originally seeking treatment for back pain, Leandro was diagnosed with an Askin's tumor, a locally aggressive cancer occurring mostly in adolescents, on April 19, 1998 that had formed on the right side of his chest wall and already grown to the size of an orange. He died 65 days later of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome while undergoing chemotherapy at the Hospital São Luiz in São Paulo on June 23, following two unsuccessful surgeries to resect the tumor and restrict blood flow to it. At the time of his death the cancer was reported to be congenital, but ongoing research instead points to a carcinogenic pesticide he was exposed to while working at a tomato farm in his youth, later aggravated by heavy tobacco smoking, as the most likely cause. Leonardo continues to record as a solo artist.

After a few years of local and regional performances, they were offered spots on local television stations, and their first album came out in 1983. However, it wasn't until 1989 that they began to hit big on the Brazilian charts, with their Vol. 3 release. The group became superstars in the early 1990s, selling several million copies of their albums and obtaining a weekly show on Brazilian television. Music by Leandro and Leonardo sold 35 million records. The album Leandro & Leonardo Vol. 4 sold 3.3 million records and is the best-selling Brazilian country music album of all time.

Leandro e Leonardo were a Brazilian sertanejo duo. The two brothers (third and fourth of eight siblings), Leandro (born Luiz José da Costa, August 15, 1961–June 23, 1998) and Leonardo (Emival Eterno da Costa, born July 25, 1963), were from Goianápolis.