Raquel Tavares (Lisbon, 11/1/1985) is a singer of Fado. She had a normal route on her education, but finally decided she couldn’t leave music behind. She won the biggest song contest dedicated to fado in Portugal: “Grande Noite Do Fado”. She sings regularly at “Bacalhau De Molho”, one of the most famous fado houses in Lisbon, and has made shows all around Europe, in cities like Paris, Rome or Madrid. Raquel sings what she sees, feels and smells around her, what she lives from day to day. And nothing suits her purposes better than the tangible, real-life stories written by Linhares Barbosa, the fado poet who best told the tales of the people. Her first album was released in 2006 and this was also the year when she was the winner of the Amália Rodrigues Revelation Prize. Her second album, Bairro, just came out in May 2008. She’s been named one of the most representative fado singers of the new generation and no longer just a promising voice. She entered in the Eurovision Dance Contest 2008 with João Tiago. They took the 8th place.
