Background
Hailing from a Mangalorean Catholic family, Wilfy was born on 2 April 1942 to Landeline Rebimbus and Magdeline Mendonca in Mangalore. His father was from Kanhangad in Kerala and mother was from Goa.
Hailing from a Mangalorean Catholic family, Wilfy was born on 2 April 1942 to Landeline Rebimbus and Magdeline Mendonca in Mangalore. His father was from Kanhangad in Kerala and mother was from Goa.
He was also known as the Konkani Koel. Wilfy had his primary and high school education at Milagres High School in Mangalore. Later, he did a mechanical course before joining Street Joseph’s Workshop as an apprentice.
He had started composing Konkani songs at the age of 14 and authored his first drama Poixeancho Sonvsar (World of Money) when he was 15 and staged it through the Street Joseph’s Natak Sangh.
He founded the musical group called United Youngsters Music Party in 1959 when he was just 17. lieutenant is now known as United Youngsters Cultural Association.
Apart from singing, Wilfy was also a good athlete and also a Kabaddi player during his school days. He was credited for taking modern Konkani music to new heights with his unique compositions and singing style.
In a career spanning about 4 decades, Wilfy wrote thousands of songs and staged 248 Wilfy Nites.
He released some forty albums, six devotional albums and at least one instrumental album. Wilfy was diagnosed to be suffering from lung cancer and underwent a surgery in September 2009. He died of complications from lung cancer on 9 March 2010.