Fernanda Maria

Fernanda Maria Carvalheda Silva (1937–2025), known professionally as Fernanda Maria, was a Portuguese fado singer. Maria was born in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon on 6 February 1937. Her father was a typesetter and a good amateur fado performer. At the age of twelve she began working as a waitress at various venues where fado was performed. These included the Parreirinha de Alfama, owned by the fado singer Argentina Santos, where, at the age of 13, Maria began to sing fado. This was a common thing for waitresses in a fado house to do. Encouraged by patrons of restaurants where she performed, Maria took the audition of the state-run broadcaster, Emissora Nacional, when she was 15 or 16, and was one of those chosen from 100 applicants, staying with the broadcaster for the next five years. She first performed on the radio programme, Serão para Trabalhadores, broadcast by the Voz do Operário (Voice of the Worker) station. Upon obtaining her professional licence in 1957, she began performing in various theatres and performance venues in Lisbon, including the Cineteatro Éden, the Coliseu dos Recreios, the Teatro Capitólio, and the Teatro ABC, while being a regular at fado houses such as A Severa, Toca, Nau Catrineta, and Viela. She recorded her first records with the Valentim de Carvalho label in the late 1950s, and later with the Alvorada label, issuing more than 80 records in her career, including 20 aimed at the US market, there being a large Portuguese community there.