Today we’d like to introduce you to Carla Wintor
Hi Carla , we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Carla Wintor, formerly known as Katê. I am a Brazilian singer, songwriter, wife, mother, speaker, and now, an author. My family and I have been living in the United States for two years, but 4 years ago God completely transformed my life.
For 15 years, I was a carnival singer in Brazil. My hometown, Salvador- Bahia, is renowned worldwide for hosting the largest street party on earth, the ‘Carnaval de Salvador.’ Our music and celebrations gained international recognition, and in 1996, Michael Jackson visited Salvador to film the music video for “They Don’t Care About Us” with the Olodum percussion group. I was a child at the time, but I vividly remember the excitement of welcoming the greatest pop icon to our city.
I grew up captivated by carnival, and in 2008, I began my professional career as a singer. Within months, we experienced great success in my city and across Brazil. For 15 years, I performed throughout the country, bringing joy to audiences from North to South and East to West. I thought this was my ultimate purpose—to be a carnival singer spreading happiness to thousands—but I had no idea of the greater plan God had for my life.
In 2017, I recorded a song with the Brazilian singer Claudia Leitte, who often spoke to me about God and Jesus. One day, while we were together in a hotel room in Rio de Janeiro, she shared words with me that she had never spoken before. Looking deeply into my eyes, she told me that if I believed solely in Jesus and embraced the conviction that He is enough, He would completely transform my life.
In 2017, Claudia Leitte prayed for me after sharing about Jesus. As she prayed, I felt the atmosphere change, and I was deeply impacted by the power of her prayer. During that moment, I heard a male voice say, “Open your eyes.” When I did, I saw Jesus standing before me. I was overwhelmed and kept this experience to myself until 2023. I was shocked, thinking it was impossible for that to be happening, even though I was seeing and feeling it.
Claudia told me Jesus would perform a miracle that week to show me who He was, and it happened the very next day. I had struggled for nearly four years with the aftermath of a failed nose surgery, affecting both aesthetics and breathing. I had consulted numerous surgeons with no success.The day after Claudia’s prayer, I met with renowned Brazilian surgeon Dr. Volney Pitombo. When he opened the door to his office, he greeted me with surprising enthusiasm, as if he had witnessed something supernatural, and offered to perform the surgery as a gift, though he emphasized that correcting my nose in a single procedure was impossible.
Dr. Volney Pitombo is a distinguished plastic surgeon based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, specializing in rhinoplasty. He is recognized for his expertise in nose reshaping and has been featured in various publications, including The New York Times.
One and a half months later, during a follow-up, Dr. Pitombo was astonished by the results, saying it was beyond his experience and skill. He revealed that on the day we met, he had seen a great light surrounding me, which confirmed to me that Jesus had performed the miracle Claudia had spoken of. However, this miracle alone didn’t lead to my conversion, as I didn’t yet understand what it meant to be truly born again or to surrender my life to Jesus.
After this encounter, I experienced three months of feeling transformed—calmer, more loving, and less anxious—but eventually returned to my usual self. As a child, I had many supernatural dreams and visions about my purpose, but they felt too distant from my reality. I often doubted them, saying I could only live a holy, God-centered life if I were born again.
Then, in 2020, during the global pandemic, while confined to my apartment in São Paulo, I began to feel profoundly different, sensing that God was calling me to something greater.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, I began helping the homeless more frequently, something I had loved doing since childhood. It brought me peace and happiness, especially during such a tense time for the world. In April 2021, I had another encounter with God, during which I began speaking and writing biblical phrases I had never known before. Until then, I didn’t really believe in the Bible and only knew the Lord’s Prayer, which my mother taught me, and Psalm 91, which my hermit grandmother used to read to me.
That day, I said things like, “He tore the veil, I have been reborn,” without realizing these were biblical truths. The next day, as I walked through my city, where I was known as a carnival singer, homeless individuals called out to me, asking for prayer and water, addressing me as “Pastor.” I was shocked and thought, “Pastor? Me? Water? No one has ever asked me for that before.”
Everything felt new, as though I had awakened from a deep sleep or had just been born. My mindset shifted completely—I could no longer think or speak in the same way, nor wear the same clothes. I even stopped drinking alcohol overnight. From that day forward, I felt guided by God, experiencing an extraordinary transformation.
At that time, I was in my hometown, Salvador, Bahia, visiting my family. A month and a half later, I returned to São Paulo, where I lived, and God asked me to sell everything and give it to the poor people . I didn’t know then that this was similar to what Jesus asked of the rich young man in the Bible. Thankfully, I obeyed and spent many months on the streets, caring for and rescuing the homeless, experiencing a supernatural love for them, and witnessing miracles of healing as I prayed for people.
Months later, God introduced me to my husband. Just a month and a half after we got married, I became pregnant, which was a miracle since I was 37 years old and had never been able to conceive before. On our wedding day, God told me that our child would come within three months, and exactly on our three-month anniversary, I discovered I was pregnant. Miraculously, I conceived during my first fertile cycle after the wedding.
Later, God revealed that we would move to the United States. He began giving me beautiful songs in English, even though I don’t know the language. In 15 years of singing, I had never written or sung in English before. Now, after nearly four years as missionaries, caring for lives and learning so much from God, we have just released our first song, Hallelujah (Thank You, My Jesus), which was given to me in Los Angeles while I prayed, asking God to worship with the angels—fitting for a city named “The Angels.”
We have already traveled to several states in the USA to talk about the love of God, how real He and Jesus are, and how they continue to heal and transform lives. We want to open a non-profit organization soon to help people in need, single mothers, and homeless people, here in the USA. We have a weekly meeting where we seek to help each other with what each one needs and live God’s second greatest commandment: to love others as ourselves.
Since surrendering my life to Jesus, we have experienced incredible things. I now live in complete dependence on God, witnessing His love and faithfulness in our lives. My husband, Ben Wintor, underwent a profound transformation during an encounter with God in his room 4 years before we met, dedicating his life to God and serving others ever since.
Although I was familiar with various religions, I didn’t truly know Jesus or God, and only He can transform us completely. Over time, I realized that everything I was experiencing and saying was rooted in the Bible. This led me to believe in the Scriptures, abandon my career as a carnival singer, and dedicate my voice and life to glorifying God.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The greatest difficulty I faced was leaving my family behind—not only because of the deep longing I felt, but also because I knew they wouldn’t understand what I was going through. Leaving a financially successful career to live by miracles and donations seemed like madness to most people. When God sent us to the USA, my grandmother Eremita, a great love of my life, was in the ICU, and I didn’t have the opportunity to say goodbye to her. She passed away a year after we arrived in America, and that was undoubtedly the greatest sacrifice of my life.
I had dreams and visions of my daughter since I was 19 years old and always told my grandmother that one day she would meet her. I was about to fulfill that dream, but it wasn’t God’s will. So, we came to the USA without her ever meeting my daughter and without saying our goodbyes.
Another challenge was learning to become a dependent person at 37 years old. Since I was 18, I had worked and always strived to be independent. After my encounter with God, I began to learn to be dependent and obedient to Him. With God, we must learn to be like children—dependent and obedient sons and daughters to their Father.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
For 15 years, I was a singer and songwriter in Brazil, known as Katê. I performed major concerts across the country, sang for crowds of up to 1 million people, and participated in shows at stadiums and large music festivals nationwide.
In my very first year as an artist, I won the award for Best Female Singer at Salvador’s Carnival, an event where we performed for over 1 million people daily for seven days, with thousands of Brazilian artists participating. In 2005, the Guinness Book recognized Salvador’s Carnival as the largest popular festival on Earth.
Today, my greatest joy is using my gift to glorify God and help transform lives. Composing and singing in English is also an honor for me, and I know all the credit goes to God because I could never do it before.
Another passion of mine is television. I have been a TV host in the past, and I dream of having a program to help people emotionally and spiritually.
God has also been equipping me to write books, and in 2025, I plan to release several of them.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
Yes, the Bible. The Bible is the book that serves as a manual for living a fulfilling and harmonious life with God and His will. The Glorify app and Christian books that help us improve our conduct within the family also interest me greatly. Family is the foundation of everything. We need to care for it as a priority. Children are the heritage of the Lord, a gift He gives us. We must take great care of our spouses and our children, so I always seek books that help me in this beautiful mission. I love Lisa Bevere’s and John Bevere’s books. I highly recommend Lioness Arising by Lisa Bevere to all women.
Something precious that we need to do as a family is to focus time for fellowship and shared meals. We are always so rushed, having quick meals, but it’s at the table, during dinner and family communion, that we look into each other’s eyes, share our day with our children, and Jesus reveals himself. We must always prioritize time at the table and fellowship with our family daily.
To you, the reader, I encourage you to open your heart and invite Jesus into your life. When we seek him wholeheartedly and love him above all else, the extraordinary happens. He takes control of our lives and transforms them for the better.
I am currently writing my first book, titled How to Experience God’s Extraordinary, aimed at helping people develop a transformative relationship with God in a simple and practical way, and have their lives transformed by him.
We can choose to live by free will or embrace God’s perfect plan. What will you choose?
I sincerely wish you a blessed new year, filled with God’s presence in your home and life!
With love,
Carla Wintor
www.carlawintor.com
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.carlawintor.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kateoficial/profilecard/?igsh=c29yYjBhdms2c2t4
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carlawintor
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CarlaWintor
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1Yof71aBdoGp7DuJu1Tbmo?si=g-bOTAk9S3WWhnbYaA2QFw
Image Credits
In the photo where a child kisses my face, the photo credit is: Dani Menezes.
In the photo that says Hallelujah, with the release of my new song, the photo credit is Moreate Photos
