Born in 1973 in Mozambique, the land of her mother, Mariza came to Lisbon, the home of her Portuguese father when she was three years old. The family owned a restaurant in the suburb of Mouraria where, it is said, Fado was born. Mariza's contemporary Fado blends African rhythms and Portuguese melody and verse. Her deeply emotive voice is matched by the plangent tones of the steel-string Spanish guitar while her dramatic stage presence is enhanced by her tall bearing, her sculpted blond hair and a wardrobe of fashionable designer gowns. One of the brightest stars in the World Music firmament, she last week took her rightful place on stage in Lisbon at the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest singing ‘Barco Negro’ unaccompanied, save for a battery of drummers, proving once again that her music has now well and truly entered the mainstream. 

(Photo by Emil Djumailiey courtesy of Dreamstime)