Fado singer Maria da Nazaré has died at the age of 79

Fado singer Maria da Nazaré, twice winner of the Great Night of Fado in Lisbon, died early this Friday morning, in Corroios, aged 79, her sister told Lusa.

In 1963, at the age of 17, Maria da Nazaré was already part of the cast of the former Emissora Nacional , acting in the program “Serão para Trabalhadores”, organized by the then National Foundation for Joy at Work (FNAT), now the Inatel Foundation, and in shows performed throughout the country.

Maria da Nazaré Martins, her full name, was born on February 9, 1946, in Barreiro, district of Setúbal, but when she was still a girl she went to live in the Lisbon neighborhood of Campo de Ourique.

He showed an early interest in singing, which he did at gatherings with friends . He had a career spanning over 50 years, having performed in several fado houses in Lisbon and on foreign stages, which earned him the Amália Award/Best Performer in 2013. In 2003, Casa da Imprensa had already awarded him the Career Award.

The fado singer was part of the casts of the fado houses Lisbon at Night, O Embuçado, Senhor Vinho, Clube do Fado or Bacalhau de Molho or Arreda, in Cascais.

Considered a reference in fado, Maria da Nazaré, in 2017, participated in the show “Mestres do Fado” , alongside António Rocha, Artur Batalha, Cidália Moreira, Filipe Duarte, Nuno de Aguiar, Maria Amélia Proença and Maria Armanda, a co-production of the Fado Museum and the Belém Cultural Center.

In 2007, he was part of the cast of the film “Fados” (2007), by Carlos Saura, alongside, among others, Mariza, Carlos do Carmo, Vicente da Câmara, Ana Sofia Varela, Carminho, Ricardo Ribeiro, Pedro Moutinho and Chico Buarque.

He recorded with Fernando Farinha (1928-1978) and the bullfighting knight José Mestre Baptista (1940-1985). His latest album, “Regressos” (2019), was recorded with his friend, fado singer António Passão.

About Maria da Nazaré, António Passão described her as “ a fado lady, a living force singing fado ”.