Biography:

Florência Martins da Cunha Vieira ( Porto , September 12 , 1938 – Lisbon , July 18 , 2025 ) [ 1 ] was a Portuguese singer . She began by being known as Florência de Fátima , then Florência Rodrigues , and then simply Florência .

Career

Florência began performing at Rádio Clube do Norte and in 1952, at just thirteen years old, she won the Queen of Singers [ 2 ] competition in Porto, sponsored by Jornal de Notícias . She won the Queen of Singers of Portugal competition in Lisbon .

In 1953, she left for Brazil with her family. There, she worked on radio and television , and performed at the most prestigious entertainment venues; she participated in festivals, gained fame, and collected awards. TV Tupi awarded her the Best of the Week award [ 2 ] . Her first LP was released by Todamérica . She recorded her first albums under the name Florência de Fátima . Among them was Recado a Lisboa , which she received from her friend João Villaret .

In 1966, a contract to perform at the Casinos of Estoril , Espinho , and Póvoa de Varzim brought her to Portugal permanently. Florência began a new stage in her artistic career, beyond fado , singing light music and folklore .

He records for the publisher Ofir. [ 2 ] From 1970 onwards he signs an exclusive contract with the publisher Orfeu de Arnaldo Trindade .

In 1971 he participated in the 1st Festival of Portuguese Song Interpreters, where he obtained 2nd place with the song ” João do Mar ” by the duo José Guimarães and Resende Dias . He also represented Portugal at the International Festival of Two Worlds , interpreting two songs by the conductor José Calvário and the poet Viale Moutinho .

In 1975 he made his debut in the revue theater with the play “The Last Tango in Lisbon”, at the Teatro de Sá da Bandeira in Porto.

In 1979, he sang “O Comboio do Tua” at the RTP Song Festival . He also participated in the magazine “Alô Lisboa Daqui Porto” where he created the fado “Maria Tripeira” and the song “Farrapo da Festa”.

In 1992, she was elected “Queen of Northern Radio” by readers of the Festival newspaper . In 1993, she was among the “Top Twenty” in the Radio Announcers Contest promoted by the magazine Jogos da Rádio and received the Revista Dona Trophy for her classification in the “Kings of Show” contest. In 1996, she received the “Prestige Award” from Casa da Imprensa.

He worked on television, radio, and in musical theater, and recorded approximately 63 albums. He received two gold records . He toured the country from one end to the other and the Portuguese communities. He participated in national and international festivals such as the Minho Festival, Figueira da Foz, the Celtic World Song Festival ( Spain ), and the Interpreters’ Festival ( Germany ).

Some of his most successful songs are “Blackberry Fashion”, “From Rose to the Chest”, “Legend of Viana”, “João do Mar”, “Don’t Call Me Love”, “The Port Sings”, “Saint John Rapioqueiro”, “Maria Tripeira”, “Old Enemy”, “Good Morning”, “Little Smell of Rose”, “My Son”, “My House”.

She created, with her husband Domingos Parker, Rádio Clube de Matosinhos, where she presented the program promoting Portuguese music and artists “Portugal a Cantar”.

Death

Florência passed away on July 18, 2025, in Lisbon . Since 2023, she lived at Casa do Artista .

Credits:

Wikipedia