Ercília Costa

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Ercília Botelho Farinha Costa (born August 3, 1902 in the municipality of Costa da Caparica , Almada district , † November 16, 1985 in the municipality of Algés , Oeiras district ) was a Portuguese singer of fados . It is considered to be the first internationally known name of Fado, before Amália Rodrigues .

Life

The daughter of a fishing family became known as a singer in the popular revues of Lisbon in the 1920s and 1930s. Since 1929 she has also appeared increasingly in fado bars. She was often referred to as Santa do Fado ( Portuguese for: Saint des Fados), referring to the hands she kept clasped during the lecture. Her growing popularity increased through various guest tours, including in 1930 the nationwide tour of the Troupe Guitarra de Portugal ensemble (with Alfredo Marceneiro, among others ). This was followed in 1932 by their own tour to the Azores and Madeira , and between 1936 and 1939 they made three guest tours through Brazil , a. a. with Vasco Santana and Mirita Casimiro .

On her return in 1939, she was honored with various gala evenings in Portugal, as an expression of her enormous popularity. With the support of the propaganda of the semi-fascist Estado Novo regime, the Secretáriado Nacional de Informação (SNI, German: National Secretariat for Information), guest performances followed in Spain, where she recorded for the Odeon , in 1937 in France, and at the 1939 World's Fair in New York. Extensive guest appearances in the USA followed. a. Bing Crosby and Cary Grant met. In 1945 she accepted a 15-month engagement in Brazil. After her return, she took over the role previously played by Amália Rodrigues in the successful revue Estás na lua! .

Ercília Costa paid no attention to Portuguese cinema , which has since become very popular . After a small role in 1932, she only played in Perdigão Queirogas Madragoa from 1952. In 1954 she withdrew from the limelight and only appeared until 1972 through occasional recordings.

reception

She was considered the greatest Portuguese singer of her time. However, since her career peaked before the 1950s, before record sales were a major factor in the popularity of musicians, she is hardly in the public eye today. Her lack of involvement in film prevented her continued popularity beyond her active time.

literature

  • Jorge Trigo: Ercília Costa - Sereia Peregrina Do Fado . Fonte da Palavra, Lisbon 2013 ( ISBN 978-989-667-162-4 )

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ : Salwa Castelo-Branco da Música em Portugal no Século XX C-L ENCICLOPEDIA, . Temas e Debates / Círculo de Leitores. Lisbon 2010, p. 345f ( ISBN 978-989-644-098-5 )
  2. ↑ Entry on Ercília Costa in the Infopédia , the online encyclopedia of the Porto Editora (with the wrong year of birth), accessed on December 28, 2013
  3. ↑ Ercília Costa's biography at www.macua.org, accessed December 28, 2013
personal data
SURNAME Costa, Ercília
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Costa, Ercília Botelho Farinha (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Portuguese fado singer
DATE OF BIRTH August 3, 1902
PLACE OF BIRTH Costa da Caparica
DATE OF DEATH November 16, 1985
Place of death Algés