Love of Lisbon: Mariza and "Maria Lisboa"

Today's song, entitled Maria Lisboa, is by Mariza, a Portuguese fado singer born in Mozambique before it gained independence from Portugal. She is of mixed Portuguese and African heritage. When she was three her family moved to Lisbon and while young she began learning to sing in many styles, including jazz, gospel and soul. She adopted fado at the insistence of her father, who felt it would give her more acceptance in the Portuguese community. After the fado's most famous interpreter, Amália Rodrigues (Maria Lisboa was made famous by her), died in 1999 Mariza was asked to perform a tribute in her memory, which led her to record a fado album. Fado was starting to regain popularity, and her album sold an astounding number of copies. She has since focused on fado, has released seven albums and has sold over a million records worldwide. Maria Lisboa appeared on her debut album Fado em Mim (2002) and this version is from a live concert in Lisbon.