Interview with Mariza

"The word fado means destiny or fate and I started singing the traditional songs when I was five years old."

She says fado is characterised by emotional tunes and lyrics.

According to one world music website, fado music is the heart of the Portuguese soul and is arguably the oldest urban folk music in the world.

Some say the music came as a dance from Africa in the 19th century and was adopted by the poor on the streets of Lisbon.

"Whatever its origins, its themes have remained constant: Destiny, betrayal in love, death and despair."

Mariza was born in Mozambique, but her family moved to Portugal when she was a baby. There she got involved in fado houses where singing was a spontaneous part of everyday life.

For a while she gave up fado and started singing soul, gospel and jazz. But she was drawn back to fado in her 20s and hasn't looked back.

"I think that people see my personality on stage and that's my way of showing this. What people are going to see is an artist and I hope they like what she represents."

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