Proclaimed as one of the greatest performers in the history of Portuguese music in general, singer Carminho is a symbol of fado, music with nostalgic, longing, mournful melodies and lyrics, often about the sea and the life of the poor. According to known data, fado developed in the 1820s in Portugal, but it is assumed that its roots go back to the distant past. It was created by combining the rhythms of African slaves in Brazil with the traditional music of rural Portugal, with Arab influences. The present form of urban vocal-dance expression took on at the beginning of the 19th century thanks to successive waves of settlers. Carminho studiously studied the entire history of this form of music and became inextricably linked with it; fado, a symbol of destiny and of Portugal, became the destiny of the singer Carminho as well as a symbol of her artistic vocation.

That drive for fado was instilled in her at an early age; she was born and grew up in a musical environment; she is the daughter of the famous fado singer Teresa Siqueira, whose performances she listened to, as well as the sounds of guitars, before she was even aware that what she was hearing was something special. She grew up listening to fado music records that her parents had at home, but also at fado meetings that they organized. Thus, without any particular intention, her taste was formed and this musical form completely took over her soul. She started singing Fado as a teenager, and those who listened to her then felt how good she was and predicted a great career for her. She began to publicly express her passion for fado as a twelve-year-old singing at the Coliseum dos Recreios in Lisbon. However, at such a young age, she realized that it is impossible to sing fado sensibly and convincingly before gaining a certain maturity and richer life experience, so she did not immediately embark on recording an album, even though she had the opportunity very early, but decided to study and graduated in marketing and traveled the world for a year participating in humanitarian missions. When she returned to Lisbon, she decided to fully devote herself to her artistic career.

She soon became a respected singer, composer and producer, a gifted artist with an extraordinary voice and unwavering artistic commitment, praised for the songs she wrote. She sings fado from the heart, respecting tradition, but also giving it her own identity. She researched the original repertoire of this musical form by studying musicians from older times, those who created this music and left a rich legacy, and thus built a deep understanding of the tradition, but also laid the foundation for an upgrade that is extremely important for her creativity, the performances today are so charming, but both distinctive and innovative.

The Portuguese and world public adore her for her authenticity and stunning performances. Her albums have gone platinum, and Time Out magazine called her debut "the most impressive fado debut in decades." She is extremely sought after worldwide, and has performed in the most prestigious concert halls, from the Barbican Center in London to the Elbphilharmonie to the sold-out Konzerthaus in Vienna. Over the years, she has established herself as the most famous Portuguese artist in the world, and she is also the winner of the Portuguese "Golden Globe" and "Carlos Paredes" awards. She was honored by the organizers of the World Youth Meeting in Lisbon when they invited her to perform her composition Estrela at the vigil with the Pope. On that occasion, she delighted 1,5 million people present, and the video was viewed by 600 million people around the world. Just a month later in Yorgos Lanthimos's Les Misérables, Carminho featured in a cameo in which she performed a moving version of O quarto, singing and playing Portuguese guitar live on set and exchanging glances with Emma Stone. The film won the "Golden Lion" award at the Venice Film Festival. At the invitation of Coldplay, she sang with Chris Martin and Bárbara Bandeira at the Coimbra Stadium, and collaborating with the Spanish singer-songwriter Pablo Alborán, she became the first Portuguese artist to reach number 1 in the Spanish charts, and their joint performance immediately reached the first place in the top charts all over the world. Latin American countries.

In addition to fado, Carminho also developed a passion for Brazilian music, so collaborations with prominent Brazilian musicians Milton Nascimento, Chico Buarque and Nana Caymmi were important for her to fulfill her dream, which also opened the door to Brazilian stages and she held a number of sold-out concerts in Brazil. . After that she collaborated with Caetano Velos and his youngest son Tom; Veloso invited her to join him on his Meu Coco tour during which they performed the song Você-Você, which he wrote inspired by Carminho and dedicated to her. At the invitation of António Carlos Jobim's family, she recorded the album "Carminho canta Tom Jobim" and since then Portuguese music, along with fado, has been represented in her concerts and albums.

She documented her creativity on six albums. Her first CD "Fado" (2009) reached platinum circulation and was recognized by the British magazine Songlines as the best album of 2011. The album was presented at Womex in Copenhagen in 2011 and at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, in support of the request to include fado in the list of world heritage. Thanks to Carminha, in the same year, UNESCO entered fado on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. In 2012, she released her second album "Alma", for which, in addition to her own compositions, she also recorded versions of traditional fado, compositions by famous authors of this music, among others Amália Rodrigues, but also famous Brazilian authors such as Chico Buarque and Vinicius de You have to. The album achieved great critical and commercial success. On the third album "Canto" (2014), the performances bring elements of drama and saudade, but also offer a delicate, paradoxical balance between mood and tempo. In addition to reaching the gold edition, "Canto" was also on the 1st place on the Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa chart. The album "Carminho canta Tom Jobim" (2016) brings covers of Jobim's songs. She recorded it with the band Banda Nova, the last group that accompanied the legendary Jobim live in his last ten years of activity. These are prominent Brazilian musicians, including Jobim's descendants, guitarist Paul Jobim, cellist Jacques Morelembaum, pianist Daniel Jobim and drummer Paul Brago. The recording included special performances by Marisa Monte, Chico Buarque and Maria Bethânia. The album was praised by critics, and the Sunday Times of London wrote that "her approach becomes more and more subtle, while the austere phrasing brings out the poetry in every verse". Carminho signed his fifth album "Maria", the most personal one up to that point, and produced several of her songs. It is exciting music that is based on experiences gained by studying one's own fado roots, but combined with a free and contemporary view of the world that inspires it. London Jazz News called this album "a brilliantly realized, incredibly diverse, but equally beautiful album". Last year, she released the album "Portuguesa", for which she recorded compositions inspired by poetry, fado singers and the history of fado. She also wrote several song lyrics and music for this edition. This album brought a turning point in her career; in addition to touring Europe, Brazil, the USA and Canada, Carminho received a Latin Grammy nomination for her work in the category of Best Album in the Portuguese Language.

Given that it is best to check the words firsthand, at a performance, in direct contact with the artist, many music lovers, not only from Croatia but also from beyond, will make a pilgrimage to Split on March 16.

Davor Hrvoj