Maria José Valério Dourado (6 May 1933 – 3 March 2021) was a Portuguese singer known for being a supporter of

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

and the performer of "Marcha do Sporting", which was adopted as the club's anthem.

Biography

Valério was born on 6 May 1933 in

Amadora Amadora (), officially Amadora City (), is a List of cities in Portugal, city and concelho, municipality in the northwest of the Lisbon metropolitan area and 10 km from central Lisbon. The population in 2011 was 175,136, in an area of 23.78&nb ...

. She started singing in 1950, at Liceu D. João de Castro, where she was a colleague of actress Lourdes Norberto. She attended the Radio Artists Preparation Center, at the then National Broadcaster, becoming part of the cast. She was the niece of conductor Frederico Valério, for whom she recorded many songs. Valério gained prominence with the success of themes such as "O Polícia Sinaleiro" as well as the program Serões para Trabalhadores, alongside names such as Rui de Mascarenhas, Gina Maria or Paula Ribas. Her biggest hit is "Menina dos Telephones", written in 1962 by Manuel Paião and Eduardo Damas. Valério was married to bullfighter José Trincheira, both of whom lived for about a year in

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

in the early 1960s. Between late 1972 and mid-1973, Valério resided in Brazil. A regular presence on television, Valério became better known to new generations for being the interpreter of the "Marcha do Sporting", the anthem of

Sporting Clube de Portugal Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

(Sporting CP). The theme was reissued as a single when Sporting won the

1999–2000 Primeira Liga The 1999–2000 Primeira Liga was the 66th season of top-tier football in Portugal. The competition was renamed Campeonato Nacional da Primeira Liga (National Championship of the First League), Primeira Liga for short, after the Portuguese Leagu ...

. On 1 April 2004, Valério was awarded the Gold Medal of Merit of the City of Lisbon, awarded by the Lisbon City Council and delivered at a ceremony at the Lisbon Forum. In 2008, a compilation album called O Melhor de Maria José Valério, was released with themes from her work recorded for the publisher

Valentim de Carvalho Valentim de Carvalho () is a Portuguese record label founded in 1914. History The company started selling phonograph, musical instruments and music since its 1914 foundation at the Rua da Assunção, Lisbon. It distributes EMI in Portugal ...

. In 2017, she headlined the play Da Revista ao Musical alongside António Calvário.

Death

Valério died of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

at Hospital de Santa Maria, Lisbon on 3 March 2021, aged 87.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valerio, Maria Jose 1933 births 2021 deaths People from Amadora 20th-century Portuguese women singers 21st-century Portuguese women singers Portuguese fado singers Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal