It is often silly to invoke the name of a legend to describe an artist, but in the case of Mariza, it’s correct.
Fado is the Portuguese Music of Saudade
Portuguese sailors launched the Age of Discovery which conquered the world for the Europeans. Fado is their music.
It’s the music of “Saudade,” that untranslatable longing for a loved one who is far away. It’s a feeling that world travelers know well.
Fado was the old-fashioned music of your grandparents. Mariza loved to sing and her father encouraged her to sing a little Fado.
Amália Rodrigues was the Queen of Fado
The roots of Portuguese Fado go back beyond 1820s Lisbon, but Amália Rodrigues (1920 – 1999) was the singer who made Fado popular around the world. Amália was “The Queen of Fado” (Rainha do Fado).
Mariza has Fado em Mim
When Amália died in 1999, Mariza was chosen to sing a television tribute to the Queen. Her friends encouraged her to follow that star. This led to Mariza’s first studio album Fado em Mim (Fado in Me) in 2001.
It was a hit in Portugal and worldwide. Fado never sold like that. A new star was born in the Portuguese sky.
Mariza is Mozambique
There is something else about Mariza. Marisa dos Reis Nunes was born in 1973 in the former Portuguese colony of Mozambique. She moved to Portugal when she was three.
Today the flow of energy from Portugal to Mozambique has reversed from Mozambique to Portugal. In an unspoken way, Mariza is part of that.
Mariza’s latest is Mundo (World)
After taking time off to become a mom, Mariza returned to recording with Mundo (2015). That’s what she represents, the world sowing itself back together across the seams of history.
Mariza in New York City
Pioneer Works October 2017
Mariza plays traditonal Portuguese Fado for the World Music Institute at Pioneer Works in Red Hook, Brooklyn on Tuesday, October 31, 2017 at 7 pm. $45 – $50
If you like Fado, or are near Red Hook, it’s a great chance to see Mariza in an intimate venue.
Pioneer Works
159 Pioneer St
Red Hook, Brooklyn
Get tickets at pioneerworks.org
Mariza on SummerStage
Portuguese Fado star Mariza is joined by Noiserv and Renato Diz for Central Park SummerStage at Rumsey Playfield in Central Park on Saturday, June 23, 2018 from 6 – 10 pm. Free