Cristina Clara is a Portuguese singer and songwriter from Minho, in northern Portugal, based in Lisbon since 2005. Her work draws on fado and oral tradition, bringing Portuguese music into conversation with the rhythms, stories and repertoires of Brazil and Cape Verde.
After studying nursing in Porto, she moved to Lisbon, where she pursued voice and theatre training. An invitation from fado singer Marco Rodrigues to perform at the historic Café Luso marked the beginning of her professional singing career. The encounters that followed broadened her musical language while keeping words and storytelling at the centre of her work.
Her debut album, Lua Adversa (2021), explored the affinities between Portuguese fado and Brazilian choro, combining original writing with traditional repertoire. Co-produced with Pedro Loch and Edu Miranda, it received support from Antena 1 and the Museu do Fado, with distribution by Sony Music.
In 2024, RTP invited Cristina to participate as a songwriter in Festival da Canção. She also performed her entry, “Primavera”, which reached the final, with lyrics by Cristina and music by Cape Verdean composer Jon Luz. That same year, she was selected for an official showcase at WOMEX in Manchester. She was later nominated for the UPBEAT Best New Talent Award 2025.
In Portugal, Cristina has performed at NOS Alive, Festival MED, Santa Casa Alfama, Jardins do Marquês and Festival Internacional dos Açores, as well as venues including Teatro da Trindade and Centro Cultural de Belém, as part of the “Há Fado no Cais” programme.
Her international appearances also include Glatt & Verkehrt in Austria, Atlantic Music Expo in Cape Verde, Antwerp Spring Festival in Belgium, CAPE (Centre des Arts Pluriels Ettelbruck) in Luxembourg, Casa de Francisca in São Paulo, Brazil, and Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., United States.
Alongside her solo career, Cristina develops collective music-making through Roda de Percussão Ibérica and workshops dedicated to traditional song and hand percussion.
Her second album, Entretela, released on 23 October 2026, brings together fifteen tracks shaped by fado, Portuguese traditional rhythms, Cape Verdean morna and batuku. Women's role in transmitting and renewing cultural memory informs both the repertoire and its imagery of textiles, inherited objects and everyday life.
Guests António Zambujo, Sérgio Godinho, Tito Paris, Rolando Semedo and Roda de Percussão Ibérica share an affinity with her intention to connect Portuguese-speaking geographies through music. Works by Amélia Muge, Maria do Rosário Pedreira and Ana Sofia Paiva join her own writing. Artistically directed by Cristina and co-produced with Edu Miranda and Joel Silva, Entretela extends her ongoing dialogue between inherited traditions and contemporary creation.
