Ramana Vieira

Genres: Portuguese Fado

Description

Ramana Vieira sings with such a wide range of emotions one cannot help but be mesmerized by images of “old world” Portugal that emerge from the depths of her soul. Her extraordinary gift of bringing this 15th century style into modern times is her unique trademark. Often referred to as the “New Voice of Portuguese World Music,” this powerful vocalist is making her mark as one of the premier contemporary Fado artists.

According to the Portuguese, Fado is a melancholy and often-mournful music similar to the American blues as it tells stories of heartache and disappointment. The essence of the poetry is the quality of “saudade,” a word that is difficult to translate as it expresses a myriad of feelings.

Ramana’s personal relationship to Fado music lies deep in her family history, as her grandfather was a famous musician and composer from Madeira Island, Portugal. Born in San Leandro, California to Portuguese immigrants, Ramana was fortunate to be exposed to the voices of Portugal’s past at a young age. “During my childhood, I sang with my mother to Amália Rodgrigues and other fabulous fadistas that were part of her special record collection,” said Ramana in a recent interview. Her mother quickly observed her daughter’s gift for music and by the age of ten she bought a piano so that Ramana could study classical music.

Called a “rising star in World Music” by the San Francisco Examiner, Ramana has solidified her place as an artist who understands the tradition of Fado singing and continues to creatively construct a path into the future by combining new musical textures and original compositions. Many of the songs on her recordings are inspired by Ramana’s main influence, Amália Rodrigues, known as the "Rainha do Fado" ("Queen of Fado") and who is attributed to popularizing the Fado worldwide. According to Ramana, “nobody else is doing what we are doing with Fado. Take the feel and groove of Shakira and the melodic textures of Dulce Pontes and that is how I would describe our music.”

For more information, visit www.ramanavieira.net