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Mariza makes fado her mission in Mission
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Vancouver Province, Mariza makes fado her mission in Mission >>
The hills of the Fraser Valley are alive with the sound of
music this weekend.
The Mission Folk Music Festival returns with another three
day event packed with star-power from abroad and next door. Appearing on the mainstage and in workshops are familiar names such as John Reischman and the Jaybirds, Alberta Slim, iconoclastic
Zimbawean protest singer Thomas Mapfumo & Blacks Unlimited and newcomer Mariza.
The Portuguese singer is shaking up the fado, her country's traditional
blues. Her first CD, Fado Em Mim and its follow-up, Fado Curvo, topped Portuguese and world music charts leading to a win as Best
European Act at the '03 BBC World Music Awards.
Even if her voice didn't knock you flat, the statuesque Mozambique- born diva's image would. Fantastic gowns and a slicked and rippled platinum 'do are her trademarks.
"Too much is made of that; my look is only me," says Mariza on the phone from her Lisbon home. "I have an esthetic sense that includes short blonde hair and not wearing the traditional black when I perform.
That's it. Simple.
"As for calling my fado 'new,' the idea is impossible. The form is too
recent to be modernized."
Whether pop or classic, a fadista -- fado singers are almost always women -- succeeds or fails entirely on the signature intensity of
their delivery. Mariza is a master of the style's often melancholy
emotions.
"Like blues, a lot of fado is very sad and personal. But most of the time at a casa de fado -- the fado houses where the music is played -- people are there having a most excellent time, drinking and socializing. The music is like receiving your friends."
Mariza is on the mainstage on Sunday night. Her Vancouver debut will be very traditional, with the lute-like Portuguese guitar as accompaniment. 07/24/03
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