Lucília Nunes de Ascensão do Carmo (4 November 1919 – 19 November 1998) was a Portuguese '' fadista'' (fado singer) and the mother of

Carlos do Carmo Carlos Manuel de Ascenção do Carmo de Almeida (21 December 1939 – 1 January 2021), better known as Carlos do Carmo, was a Portuguese fado singer. The son of Lucília do Carmo, a well-known ''fadista'', do Carmo began his career in fado fol ...

Biography

At the age of five, together with her family, headed by her father Francisco, Carmo settled in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

. Her debut as a fado singer took place at Retiro da Severa, in 1936, when she was only 17 years old, in the presence of the owners and businessmen of the most typical fado houses in

Alfama The Alfama () is the oldest neighborhood of Lisbon, spreading on the slope between the São Jorge Castle and the Tagus river. The district includes the ''freguesias'' (parishes) of São Miguel, Santo Estêvão, São Vicente de Fora and part of th ...

Bairro Alto Bairro Alto (; literally: ''Upper District'') is a central district of the city of Lisbon, the Portuguese capital. Unlike many of the civil parishes of Lisbon, this region can be commonly explained as a loose association of neighbourhoods, with no ...

and Mouraria, typically the three Lisbon fadistas neighborhoods. Her presence on stage and voice captured the audience's attention and recognition came quickly. Shortly afterwards, she participated in fado programs at Emissora Nacional, Rádio Graça and Rádio Luso, and the radio was also responsible for promoting his name and increasing popularity.Museu do Fado
/ref> Carmo married Alfredo de Almeida and in 1939 her son

was born, who, influenced by his mother, would later become a great fado singer, with a successful national and international career. Next, she retired for five years from Lisbon's cultural circles, acting in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

and

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

, where she exhibited, among other spaces, at Casino da Costa, in

Lourenço Marques Maputo () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a population of 1,088,449 (as of 2017) distributed ov ...

. From her time at that casino, she would report the newspaper Canção do Sul, of 16 August 1943, of the "(...) formidable success achieved by the popular singer Lucília do Carmo". In 1947, two years after the end of the Second World War, Carmo and Almeida opened a fado house, called Adega da Lucília, which later changed its name to O Faia. The house, where Carmo was the main artistic performance, was located in Bairro Alto, right in Rua da Barroca. Knowing several casts over the years, singers from different generations sang there, such as

Alfredo Marceneiro Alfredo Rodrigo Duarte (25 February 1891 – 26 June 1982), better known as Alfredo Marceneiro, was a Portuguese fado singer. His stage name is derived from his original profession as a woodworker (''marceneiro,'' in Portuguese). Marceneiro is ...

, Tristão da Silva, Carlos Ramos or

Camané Carlos Manuel Moutinho Paiva dos Santos Duarte (born 20 December 1966), known professionally as Camané, is a Portuguese fado singer. Career He started gaining recognition in Portugal in 1979 after winning the 'Grande Noite do Fado' (Great F ...

Ary dos Santos ARY may stand for: * Abdul Razzak Yaqoob, a Pakistani expatriate businessman * Andre Romelle Young, real name of Dr. Dre * Ary and the Secret of Seasons, an action adventure video game * ARY Digital, a Pakistani television network * ARY Digital Net ...

, who also frequented O Faia, said one day of the fado singer "Lucília do Carmo is, as far as I am concerned, a fado classic!."Livrete do CD ''Lucíclia do Carmo''. She avoided studios, few records she recorded. However, her discography included hits like ''Leio em teus olhos'', ''Foi na Travessa da Palha'', ''Maria Madalena'', ''Não gosto de ti'', ''Preciso de te ver'', ''Senhora da Saúde'', ''Olhos garotos'', ''Antigamente'', ''Tia Dolores'', ''Loucura'', ''Zé Maria'' and ''Lá vai a Rosa Maria''. In the 1980s, she withdrew from artistic life. Undoubtedly, she remains in the public's and critic's memory as a lady of fado corrido, considered one of the best voices of Fado ever. Carmo passed away in Lisbon on 19 November 1998.

Discography

* ''Fado Lisboa: an evening at the "Faia"'' (1974) * ''Lucília do Carmo'' (1978) * ''O melhor de Lucília do Carmo'' (1990) * ''Fado em Tom Maior'' (1995) * ''Maria Madalena'' (1997) * ''Biografias do Fado'' (1998)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carmo, Lucilia do 1919 births 1998 deaths People from Portalegre, Portugal 20th-century Portuguese women singers Portuguese fado singers