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B i o g r a p h y

More than 'just' a singer, Maria de Fátima is a Fado phenomenon: born in 1961 in a working-class neighbourhood of Lisbon (Boavista), she started performing in public at the age of 10. In 1974, she won the most important competition in the world of Fado: 'Grande noite do Fado'. After that her life turned upside-down: the 'Miúda de Boavista' (Little Girl from Boavista) was touring throughout the country and also travelled abroad... she recorded LPs and had to quit school... she sang in theatres, casinos, galas, ... she sang with Amália, Camané,  Fernando Mauricio, ...

 

Then suddenly (in 1981), she disappeared. Only her mother knew that Maria had emigrated to Amsterdam. She took to a quiet family life, performing once in a while at small occasions. Only in 2001, she went back to recording and henceforth conquered the theatres of the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. Meanwhile, Maria de Fátima has recorded another 6 albums!

In the 45 years of her career, Maria de Fátima has been singing a wide repertoire of traditional Fado, songs written by herself or especially for her, the so-called 'Fado canção' in the manner of Amália Rodrigues and Dulce Pontes, but also a repertoire beyond the context of Fado: no matter if she interpretes  Jaques Brel, Diana Ross or Maria Bethania- from the moment Maria starts singing, everything is turned into Fado! According to herself, Fado is ...

 

“... a way to feel, a way to express yourself, short: a way of living.”

 

In the last decennium, Maria had a number of combined shows with male singers Thé Lau, Fernando Lameirinhas, Miguel Ramos. In her own concerts, she's always accompanied by  Daniel Raposo (Portugese guitar), Hans van Gelderen (classical guitar) and Felix Hildenbrand (acoustic bass).

 

On sept 6th 2016, Maria joined the Order of Infant Henry the Navigator, invited by the president of Portugal to honour her merits for the culture of her motherland!

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