Bellino Antonio Salvador Afonso

Bellino Antonio Salvador Afonso was the treasured son of Joao Salvador Afonso and Caetana Salvacao Fernandez.

He was born in Assolna, Goa on December 1st 1943.

On November 28^th 2019, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he passed, peacefully, onto the next life surrounded by family and those who cherished him.  Bellino is the loving brother of Pauline, Doris, Protasio, George, Netty, Agnes, Cupertino, Felix, Magno, and Mario Afonso.  Devoted husband to Eulalia.  Loving father to Salma, Sonia, and Joao. And the most attentive and caring grandfather to Steven, Balin and Lilyana.

Funeral services will be held in Holy Name Parish Church at 701 Gaul st., Philadelphia PA, 19125 on December 5^th , 2019 with the viewing at 9 a.m. and the mass at 10 a.m.

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Bellino Antonio Salvador Afonso embodied the adventurous and musical spirit of the Afonso family just like his father and grandfather before him. After getting educated, he went on to travel the world in pursuit of a happy and meaningful life.

He loved to sing and music was his passion. This led to an amazing musical career, outside of accounting. He sang with and was the assistant conductor to the Ahmadi Church Choir, he sang with the Kuwait Singers, Radio Serenades, The Stepping Stones, The Robert Ensinger Chorale, Holy Name Guitar Group, and The Philadelphia Boys Choir and Chorale. Bellino made many incredible and lifelong friends through his musical journey. He was very well known for his stunning rendition of “Ave Maria” which he would often sing at weddings and celebrations. His angelic voice evoked emotion from all who heard it. Aside from classical music, he was also loved jazz and rock & roll. Music was his life.

He was introduced to his soon-to-be wife, Eulalia, in Kuwait, through mutual friends at a picnic – during which he sang to her every song she had requested and played it on his guitar as well. This sparked their love but her love for him wasn’t cemented until she saw how much he cared for his family. He often put his own needs aside and lived a meager lifestyle so he could send most of the money he earned back home to his family in Goa. Eulalia knew this kind of love would carry over to when he started a family of his own. She was right.

Bellino and Eulalia married in the Phillipines and started their life together in Kuwait where they would go on to have their three children – Salma, Sonia, and Joao. Shortly after the birth of their youngest child, the country was invaded by Sadam and, overnight, they went from their routine and peaceful existence to living in a warzone with all the horrors and uncertainty that came with that.

Bellino Antonio Salvador Afonso, – the musician, the artist, the singer, and accountant – unarmed and unsure of the dangers that he could encounter, vowed to find safe passage for his family in order to get them out of the country during the Iraqi invasion. He left by himself and did just that. Bellino secured his family’s safety and, along with his wife Eulalia, helped to lay the foundation for the life they would come to live in the U.S.

Bellino Afonso was a brave and noble man with the biggest heart. He loved every human being and went out of his way to truly connect with everyone he ever met. He was more than a musician, more than a singer, he was more than his career. Bellino was a great son, brother, husband, father, and grandfather and great friend. Bellino was always there for his family, no matter what, and everyone who had the privilege of meeting him knew that. If you called, he would be there. He was a great Guardian here on earth and although he left his physical form, the Lord gained a great Guardian Angel who happened to already possess the voice of an angel. Bellino can now watch over us all. God bless his soul.