Maria Guinot (20 June 1945 – 3 November 2018) was a

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

, best known for her participation in the 1984 Eurovision Song Contest.

Biography

Born in

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, Guinot released two EPs, "La mère sans enfant" and "Balada do negro só" in the late 1960s, then took a long break from the music industry. She returned in 1981 performing a song, "Um adeus, um recomeço", in the Portuguese Eurovision selection, ''

Festival da Canção Festival da Canção (; "Song Festival") or Festival RTP da Canção is the name given to the national festival, produced and broadcast by Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP) to choose the for the Eurovision Song Contest. It was first held in ...

'', where she finished third. Her second attempt in ''Festival da Cançao'' came in 1984, when her song " Silêncio e tanta gente" ("Silence and So Many People") emerged the winner. Guinot went forward as the Portuguese representative in the 29th Eurovision Song Contest, held in

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on 5 May. "Silêncio e tanta gente", a reflective ballad with Guinot accompanying herself on

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

, was performed last in the running order, and provided a low-key ending to the contest. It finished in 11th place of the 19 entries. Following her Eurovision appearance, Guinot continued performing and composing. She has released three albums, and has often collaborated on projects with other musicians. In 2010 she suffered three strokes and stopped playing the piano. Maria Guinot died on 3 November 2018 from a lung infection at the age of 73.

Albums discography

*1987: ''Esta palavra mulher'' *1991: ''Maria Guinot'' *2004: ''Tudo passa''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guinot, Maria 1945 births 2018 deaths Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1984 Singers from Lisbon People from Barreiro, Portugal Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Portugal 20th-century Portuguese women singers 21st-century Portuguese women singers Deaths from respiratory tract infection