Raquel Tavares

Raquel Tavares

Raquel Tavares is a fado singer from Lisboa, Portugal. She is known for performing songs rooted in everyday observation and experience, and for drawing on the work of the fado poet Linhares Barbosa, whose writing suits her style of storytelling within the genre.

Career

She follows a conventional course through education before choosing to focus on music. She wins Portugal’s major fado song competition, Grande Noite do Fado, and becomes associated with Bacalhau De Molho, one of Lisbon’s best-known fado houses, where she performs regularly.

Tavares also gives performances across Europe, including in Paris, Rome and Madrid. She is described as one of the most representative voices of the new generation of fado singers.

Recordings and recognition

Her first album is released in 2006, the same year she receives the Amália Rodrigues Revelation Prize. Her second album, Bairro, follows in 2008. She also appears in the Eurovision Dance Contest 2008 with João Tiago, where they finish eighth.