Mariza and “Mundo” at Hala Orbita: Portuguese fado at Ethno Jazz Festival’s tenth anniversary

“Mundo” was produced by Javier Limón, a multiple Grammy winner known for working with stars including Paco de Lucía, Wynton Marsallis, Caetano Veloso, Alicia Keys, Buika, Diego El Cigala and Anoushka Shankar.

Mariza is considered the greatest star of fado, Portugal's national treasure. Her voice is described as “magical, diamond-like, magnetic”, while her phenomenal popularity is compared with the most famous opera divas and pop-rock megastars.

Over a 12-year musical career, Mariza has developed from a local phenomenon known to a small circle of fado devotees in Lisbon into one of the world’s best-known and most acclaimed world-music stars. No Portuguese artist since the great Amalia Rodrigues has achieved such spectacular international success. She has released five original albums, “Fado em Mim”, “Fado Curvo”, “Transparente”, “Terra” and “Fado Tradicional”; received numerous awards, including a Latin Grammy in 2007; and worked with outstanding musicians and producers such as Gilberto Gil, Ivan Lins, Lenny Kravitz, Cesária Évora, Tito Paris and Sting. With the latter, she performed the Athens Games anthem A Thousand Years in 2004.

Her repertoire mainly comprises traditional and contemporary interpretations of fado, but the singer also enjoys exploring Cape Verdean mornas close to her heart and blues standards.

Mariza has travelled far from a minor world-music appearance to the finest venues, including Paris’s Olympia, London’s Royal Festival Hall, Sydney Opera House and New York’s Carnegie Hall. She has proved herself an internationally outstanding talent. The young Mozambican woman raised near Lisbon’s famous Mouraria district reached into her country’s musical roots, becoming an artist beyond world music while retaining national identity and Portuguese sensitivity.

▶