Though she was born in Mozambique, Mariza 30 moved to the tradition drenched Lisbon neighborhood of Mouraria – the birthplace of fado - when she was very young. Her family bought a small restaurant where fado was often performed, and she began singing it herself by the time she was 5. Since she couldn’t read yet, her father helped her remember song lyrics by drawing cartoons.

            “I grew up listening to this music and feeling this music – its like breathing” says Mariza, who will perform with a three piece combo at Saturdays GlobalFEST concert in New York’s Public Theatre (she has a prime 10:40 p.m slot). “I can try to sing other things like jazz or soul, funk but fado is me.”

            Mariza who still lives in Lisbon (and whose full name is Mariza Nunes, though she uses only her first name professionally), has become a rising world music star with her two albums, 2002’s “Fado em Mim” and last years “Fado Curvo.” Both albums have albums have an unquestionable authentic, traditional sound. But “Fado Curvo” strayed from the formula of the debut (which featured several songs associated with fado queen Amalia Rodrigues, who died in 1999) by emphasizing original material, adapted from the work of Portuguese poets.

            The album title reflects Mariza’s desire to put her own spin on the music

            “Curvo doesn’t really mean ‘curved,’ it means not straight” she says, “Fado is not a straight line. Like passion, like all the feelings you have – they are not straight lines. Like life, like your destiny.

            “That’s why I gave the album that name because my fado is not straight. I have another vision and other feelings about fado.

            Steeped in tradition but not totally tradition bound, it’s the kind of album that could help bring fado to a wider audience. (Mariza striking look, combining close-cropped platinum blonde hair with long, flowing dresses helps her stand out from the crowd, too). But Mariza says she is not on any kind of mission.

            “I don’t think about what I can do, but about what pleasure (fado) is going to give me. I do it because I love it, and it gives me so much pleasure. It’s a selfish thing.”

            Similarly, though GlobalFEST was conceived as a career-boosting event for world music artists, she is not concerned with what her GlobalFEST appearance will accomplish for her.

            “I don’t work like that in my life: I don’t expect anything. I’m just going to sing, and to feel everything.

            “If something happens, it will be wonderful. If nothing happens, it will be wonderful at the same time. I’m going to travel to one of my favorite cities, I’m going to be with friends, and I’m going to have fun, because I’m going to sing.”