Mariza

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Mariza Reis Nunes
Mariza, 2004
Mariza, 2004
Background information
Birth name Mariza Reis Nunes
Born December 16, 1973
Origin Mozambique
Genre(s) Fado
Occupation(s) Fado singer
Years active 1997-present
Website Mariza.com - official web site

Mariza Reis Nunes (pron. IPA: [mɐ.'ɾi.zɐ]) (born December 16, 1973 in Mozambique, then a Portuguese colony) is a Latin Grammy-nominated fado singer. She moved to Portugal when she was three, and was raised in one of the most traditional quarters of Lisbon, Mouraria and Alfama, where she learned how to sing fado. She has a Portuguese father and her mother came from Mozambique (the song "Transparente" is a tribute to her African grandmother). In 2007 she came in 61st in Portugal's election of Os Grandes Portugueses (The Greatest Portuguese).

[edit] Career

While growing up, she sang in a wide variety of styles, including gospel, soul and jazz, before settling for fado.

Released in 2001, Mariza's first album, Fado em Mim, was an instant success in Portugal, selling more than 30,000 copies, which led to her recording company launching the disc internationally to take advantage of the good reception that Portuguese music was enjoying at the time in Europe and in other countries, such as Mexico and Japan.

At the 2002 FIFA World Cup she performed the Portuguese national anthem at the game which pitted the home team (South Korea) against Portugal.

When Mariza's second album, Fado Curvo, was released in 2003, she was already considered as a member of the New Fado movement, her voice harking back to the divas of the musical form, like Amália Rodrigues. Her interpretations of fado standards brought her great international recognition in a small amount of time, leading to her being the recipient, in March 2003, of BBC Radio 3's award for Best European Artist in World Music. Her British television debut was on Later with Jools Holland. For the Olympic Games of Athens 2004 she sang "A Thousand Years," as a duet with Sting. It was released on the official pop album of the Athens Olympics, Unity, on which fado is sung in English and Portuguese.

Her third album, Transparente, was recorded in Brazil and released in 2005. Mariza was also one of the artists who performed at Live 8; she sang at the Eden Project in Cornwall, and ever since, Mariza has been invited to a large number of concerts and events to promote Portuguese culture around the whole world, from Australia to Finland, the United States and Argentina. That album eventually reached top ten in countries like Holland, Spain and Finland.

She had performed in many places like New York's Carnegie Hall, Central Park, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Barbican, Hollywood Bowl, London's Royal Albert Hall, Union Chapel, Royal Festival Hall, Lisbon's Centro Cultural de Belém, Frankfurt's Alte Oper, Paris' Théâtre de La Ville, Madrid's Teatro Albeniz, Barcelona's Teatro Grec, X Cairo International Song Festival 2004, Centro Cultural de Macau, Moscow International House of Music, Toronto's Massey Hall and Sydney Opera House.

Mariza has received many awards from countries such as Denmark, Australia, Canada, Germany, UK, USA and many others.

Her album Concerto em Lisboa received in 2007 a Latin Grammy nomination for Best Folk Album.

[edit] Discography

[edit] External links