Zeca Afonso
Encyclopedia
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, the son of José Nepomuceno Afonso, a judge, and Maria das Dores. Zeca is among the most influential folk and political musicians in Portuguese history. He became an icon among Portuguese left-wing activists due to the role of his music in the resistance against the dictatorial regime of Oliveira Salazar, resistance that triumphed in 1974 with the pro-democratic leftist military coup of the Carnation Revolution
Carnation Revolution
The Carnation Revolution , also referred to as the 25 de Abril , was a military coup started on 25 April 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, coupled with an unanticipated and extensive campaign of civil resistance...
. In the ensuing revolutionary process, Zeca was a very active musician and continued composing political and folk songs, often criticizing the post-revolutionary changes. Years after his death, Zeca Afonso is still widely listened to, not only in Portugal, but also abroad.
Early life
José Afonso was born in Aveiro on 2 August 1929, at 10:30 am.In 1930 his parents travelled to Angola, a Portuguese colony at the time, where his father had been placed as a judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
in the city of Silva Porto (present-day Kuito
Kuito
Kuito is a city located in central Angola. It is the administrative capital of Bié Province. Under Portuguese rule until 1975, it was called Silva Porto. Kuito was under siege in 1993/94 and again in 1998/99 by the rebel forces from UNITA...
). José Afonso stayed at Aveiro, in a house named "Fonte das Cinco Bicas", due to some health problems with his aunt Gigé and his uncle Xico, who called himself "republican and anticlerical". In 1933 Zeca travelled to Angola at his mother's request. On the ship Zeca met a missionary who became his companion during the voyage. José Afonso stayed for three years in Angola, where he began his primary education.
In 1936 he returned to Aveiro and in 1937 he travelled for the second time, this time to Mozambique, another Portuguese overseas territory in East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
, where his parents were then living, with his brother and sister, João and Mariazinha.
He returned to Portugal in 1938, this time to the house of his uncle Filomeno, mayor of the town of Belmonte. There he finished the fourth grade. His uncle, a fierce fascist supporter, made him a member of the "Mocidade Portuguesa
Mocidade Portuguesa
The Mocidade Portuguesa was a Portuguese youth organization under the right-wing regime of the Estado Novo. Membership was compulsory between the ages of 7 and 14, and voluntary until the age of 25....
", a youth organization under the right-wing regime of the Estado Novo; Zeca came to consider those years among the worst of his life.
He went to Coimbra
Coimbra
Coimbra is a city in the municipality of Coimbra in Portugal. Although it served as the nation's capital during the High Middle Ages, it is better-known for its university, the University of Coimbra, which is one of the oldest in Europe and the oldest academic institution in the...
in 1940 in order to continue his studies. He studied in the D. João III high school and lived with his aunt Avrilete. His family went from Mozambique to East Timor
Portuguese Timor
Portuguese Timor was the name of East Timor when it was under Portuguese control. During this period, Portugal shared the island of Timor with the Netherlands East Indies, and later with Indonesia....
, also a Portuguese overseas territory at that time, where his father continued his job as a judge. Mariazinha went with them while his brother João returned to Portugal. With the occupation of Timor by the Japanese, José Afonso received no news from his parents for three years, until the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in 1945.
University years
In that year he started singing his first songs as a bicho (which means something like a bug or a worm), a traditional rank of the University of Coimbra for high school students (José Afonso was in the 11th grade). He was known as bicho-cantor ("the singing bug"), which granted him the right of not being rapado ("head shaved") by the organized trupes ("groups") of older students who were guardians of the university's traditions.From 1946 to 1948 he worked to finish high school, after two prior attempts failed due to his chaotic lifestyle spent among the older students. He met Maria Amália de Oliveira, whom he married, secretly due to his parents' opposition. He travelled with some of the most important university musical groups, as Orfeon Académico de Coimbra
Orfeon Académico de Coimbra
Orfeon Académico de Coimbra is the oldest and one of the most famous academic choirs in Portugal. It was established in 1880 by the then University of Coimbra's law student João Arroio, with the name Sociedade Choral do Orpheon Académico....
, and played football for the Associação Académica de Coimbra
Associação Académica de Coimbra
The Coimbra Academic Association is the students' union of the University of Coimbra . Founded in Coimbra on November 3, 1887, it is the oldest students' union in Portugal...
. In 1949 he started studying History
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
and Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
at the University of Coimbra.
In January 1953 his first son, José Manuel, was born. That year, he released his first recordings, of which no copies remain today.
From 1953 to 1955 he underwent compulsory military service. He was sent to Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
, by then a Portuguese territory, but he was sent home due to health problems. After that he was stationed at Coimbra. He experienced many economic difficulties and divorced. After his military service, and now with two children, José Manuel and Helena (born in 1954), Zeca finished his studies with an 11 (out of 20) for a thesis about Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre was a French existentialist philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic. He was one of the leading figures in 20th century French philosophy, particularly Marxism, and was one of the key figures in literary...
.
Early political action
In 1956 he released his first record, Fados de CoimbraCoimbra Fado
Coimbra Fado is a genre of fado originating in the city of Coimbra, Portugal. It was adopted as the music of the university students of this city, also known as Student Fado , but is usually considered the typical music of Coimbra itself.It is performed with the traditional Guitarra de Coimbra...
. In 1956/57 he became a teacher and worked in the south of Portugal. Due to his financial problems he sent his children to the Portuguese overseas territory of Mozambique in 1958, where his parents were at the time. In that year he became enthralled by Humberto Delgado
Humberto Delgado
Humberto da Silva Delgado, GCL was a General of the Portuguese Air Force and politician.Delgado was born in Brogueira, Torres Novas. He was the son of Joaquim Delgado and wife Maria do Ó Pereira and had three younger sisters, Deolinda, Aida and Lídia....
's presidential campaign; Delgado lost due to massive fraud perpetrated by the authoritarian Estado Novo regime. In 1959 he started singing in his trademark musical style, colored with political and social connotations, in many popular groups around the country. This granted him a growing popularity among the working class and the rural population. In 1960 his fourth record, Balada do Outono (Autumn Ballad), was released. From 1961 to 1962 he paid close attention to the student strikes and demonstrations demanding democracy and the end of the authoritarian Estado Novo regime, which were brutally repressed by the police. He continued releasing many of his songs and introduced important new guitar arrangements. He played in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, in a fado
Fado
Fado is a music genre which can be traced to the 1820s in Portugal, but probably with much earlier origins. Fado historian and scholar, Rui Vieira Nery, states that "the only reliable information on the history of Fado was orally transmitted and goes back to the 1820s and 1830s at best...
guitar group with Adriano Correia de Oliveira
Adriano Correia de Oliveira
Adriano Maria Correia Gomes de Oliveira, GCIH, ComL, or just Adriano was a Portuguese musician, born to a conservative Roman Catholic family in Porto. His family moved to Avintes after his birth...
, José Niza, Jorge Godinho, Durval Moreirinhas and the singer Esmeralda Amoedo. In May 1964, José Afonso played in the Musical Society Workers' Brotherhood in Grândola
Grândola
Grândola is a town and municipality in Portugal with a total area of and a total population of 14,543 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 5 parishes and is located in Setúbal District....
, where he found the inspiration to compose the song Grândola, Vila Morena, which would be the signal (broadcast by the national radio channel) for the start of the Carnation Revolution
Carnation Revolution
The Carnation Revolution , also referred to as the 25 de Abril , was a military coup started on 25 April 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, coupled with an unanticipated and extensive campaign of civil resistance...
in 1974. Also in 1964 the album Baladas e Canções was released. From 1964 to 1967, José Afonso was in Lourenço Marques (now Maputo
Maputo
Maputo, also known as Lourenço Marques, is the capital and largest city of Mozambique. It is known as the City of Acacias in reference to acacia trees commonly found along its avenues and the Pearl of the Indian Ocean. It was famous for the inscription "This is Portugal" on the walkway of its...
) and Beira
Beira, Mozambique
Beira is the second largest city in Mozambique. It lies in the central region of the country in Sofala Province, where the Pungue River meets the Indian Ocean. Beira had a population of 412,588 in 1997, which grew to an estimated 546,000 in 2006...
, Mozambique, with Zélia (his second wife); there he reunited with his children. In his last two years in the overseas province he taught in Beira, and composed music for the Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...
play The Exception and The Rule. In 1965 his daughter Joana was born. In 1967 he returned to Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, marked by the colonial reality and by the Portuguese Colonial War
Portuguese Colonial War
The Portuguese Colonial War , also known in Portugal as the Overseas War or in the former colonies as the War of liberation , was fought between Portugal's military and the emerging nationalist movements in Portugal's African colonies between 1961 and 1974, when the Portuguese regime was...
against the independence-seeking guerrilla movement of Mozambique, Frelimo. However, he left his older son, José Manuel, with the latter's grandparents in Mozambique. José Afonso became a teacher in Setúbal
Setúbal
Setúbal is the main city in Setúbal Municipality in Portugal with a total area of 172.0 km² and a total population of 118,696 inhabitants in the municipality. The city proper has 89,303 inhabitants....
; after that he developed a severe health crisis which left him hospitalized for 20 days. When he left the hospital, he found that he had been expelled from public school teaching because of his leftist politics and because the regime's censors considered his songs strongly subversive. His book Cantares de José Afonso (José Afonso's songs) was published. The Portuguese Communist Party
Portuguese Communist Party
The Portuguese Communist Party is a major left-wing political party in Portugal. It is a Marxist-Leninist party, and its organization is based upon democratic centralism. The party also considers itself to be patriotic and internationalist....
invited him personally to become a party member but Zeca refused because of his bourgeois origins. In that year he signed a contract with the Orfeu label, which would record 70% of his works. Expelled from the teaching job, he became a private tutor for some students and he started singing much more regularly in the popular groups on the south bank of the Tagus
Tagus
The Tagus is the longest river on the Iberian Peninsula. It is long, in Spain, along the border between Portugal and Spain and in Portugal, where it empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Lisbon. It drains an area of . The Tagus is highly utilized for most of its course...
river, Margem Sul do Tejo, a fiercely Communist-supporting region that even before the revolution had strong local movements and associations. For Christmas, Zeca released the album Cantares do Andarilho, with Rui Pato, the first album recorded for Orfeu. His contract was very special: he received 15,000 escudos
Portuguese escudo
The escudo was the currency of Portugal prior to the introduction of the Euro on 1 January 1999 and its removal from circulation on 28 February 2002. The escudo was subdivided into 100 centavos....
per month on
condition that he recorded an album per year.
Anti-regime activities
In 1969, with the replacement of António de Oliveira SalazarAntónio de Oliveira Salazar
António de Oliveira Salazar, GColIH, GCTE, GCSE served as the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1932 to 1968. He also served as acting President of the Republic briefly in 1951. He founded and led the Estado Novo , the authoritarian, right-wing government that presided over and controlled Portugal...
by Marcelo Caetano
Marcelo Caetano
Marcelo José das Neves Alves Caetano, GCTE, GCC, also spelled Marcello Caetano , was a Portuguese politician and scholar, who was the last prime minister of the Estado Novo regime, from 1968 until his overthrow in the Carnation Revolution of 1974....
, the Estado Novo-controlled nation got a very slight taste of democracy, such as permission to rebuild a democratic Labour Union movement. José Afonso joined the movement and supported it by all the means he could; he also took part in the second wave of student rebellion against the regime in Coimbra
Coimbra
Coimbra is a city in the municipality of Coimbra in Portugal. Although it served as the nation's capital during the High Middle Ages, it is better-known for its university, the University of Coimbra, which is one of the oldest in Europe and the oldest academic institution in the...
, an important university town. He released the album Contos Velhos Rumos Novos and the single Menina dos Olhos Tristes which contains the popular song Canta Camarada (Sing, Sing, Comrade!) which was almost adopted by the Portuguese Communist Party
Portuguese Communist Party
The Portuguese Communist Party is a major left-wing political party in Portugal. It is a Marxist-Leninist party, and its organization is based upon democratic centralism. The party also considers itself to be patriotic and internationalist....
as an unofficial anthem. He received the award for best album that year, and again in 1970 and 1971. For the first time on a Zeca album, an instrument other than the guitar was used. His fourth and last son, Pedro, was born.
In 1970 the album Traz Outro Amigo Também (Bring Another Friend Too), recorded in London, in the Pye studios, was released. It is the first album without Rui Pato, forbbiden to travel by PIDE
PIDE
In 1969, Marcello Caetano changed the name PIDE to DGS . The death of Salazar and the subsequent ascension of Caetano brought some attempts at democratization, in order to avoid popular insurgency against censorship, the ongoing colonial war and the general restriction of civil rights...
, the fascist political police. On 21 March the Portuguese press gave him an award for his "high quality work as singer and composer and for his decisive influence upon Portuguese popular music". He participated in an international festival in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
. At the end of 1971, the famous album Cantigas do Maio (Songs of May), recorded near Paris, in Château d'Hérouville
Château d'Hérouville
The Château d'Hérouville is a French château of the 18th century located in the village of Hérouville, in the Oise valley near Paris. The castle was built in 1740 by Gaudot, an architect of the school of Rome. In the 19th century, it was used as courier relay station and stabled a hundred...
studios, was released. The album is generally considered the best album of his career. His 1972 album is called Eu Vou Ser Como a Toupeira (I Will Be Like the Mole), and was recorded in Madrid, at Cellada studios.
In 1973 José Afonso continued his "pilgrimage", singing all over Portugal. Many of his appearances were forcibly cancelled by the PIDE/DGS. In April he was arrested and spent 20 days in Caxias prison (a prison mostly used for political prisoners) until the end of May. In the prison he wrote the poem Era Um Redondo Vocábulo. For Christmas, he released the album Venham Mais Cinco, recorded in Paris and on which José Mário Branco collaborated. Janine de Waleyne, from the Swingle Singers, guested on the title track. On 29 March 1974, there was a full house at the Coliseu, in Lisbon, for José Afonso, Adriano Correia de Oliveira
Adriano Correia de Oliveira
Adriano Maria Correia Gomes de Oliveira, GCIH, ComL, or just Adriano was a Portuguese musician, born to a conservative Roman Catholic family in Porto. His family moved to Avintes after his birth...
, José Jorge Letria, Manuel Freire
Manuel Freire
Manuel Freire is a Portuguese influential left-wing singer and composer, although he also works as a computer technician. Freire was born in Vagos, Aveiro District in 25 April 1942....
, José Barata Moura, Fernando Tordo
Fernando Tordo
Fernando Tordo, born March 29, 1948 in Lisbon, Portugal, is a singer and composer. In 1969, he made his singing debut on Portuguese television, while competing to represent his country in the Eurovision Song Contest . He would try again for the next 3 years until he finally won in 1973, with his...
, and many others, who ended the concert by singing "Grândola, Vila Morena". Some soldiers from the revolutionary movement that in April would take part in the Carnation Revolution
Carnation Revolution
The Carnation Revolution , also referred to as the 25 de Abril , was a military coup started on 25 April 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, coupled with an unanticipated and extensive campaign of civil resistance...
, the MFA, were in the audience and chose "Grândola" as a symbol for the Revolution. A month later, on 25 April, the Estado Novo regime was overthrown in a nearly bloodless military coup. He released the album Coro dos Tribunais (Courthouse Chorus), recorded in London, again at Pye, with musical arrangements by Fausto
Fausto
Fausto may refer to:* Fausto Amodei, Italian singer-songwriter* Fausto Bordalo Dias, Portuguese singer-songwriter* Fausto Carmona, Dominican baseball player* Fausto Cleva, Italian-born American operatic conductor...
. The album includes two Brechtian songs, composed in Mozambique in the period between 1964 and 1967: "Coro dos Tribunais" and "Eu Marchava de Dia e de Noite".
Revolutionary period
Lotta Continua
Lotta Continua was a far left extra-parliamentary organization in Italy. It was founded in autumn 1969 by a split in the student-worker movement of Turin, which had started militant activity at the universities and factories such as Fiat...
, Il Manifesto
Il Manifesto
il manifesto is an Italian newspaper. While it calls itself communist, it is not connected to any political party. It was founded as a monthly review in 1969 by a collective of left-wing journalists engaged in the wave of critical thought and activity on the Italian left in that period. Prominent...
and Avanguardia Operaria released the album República, recorded in Rome on 30 September and 1 October. The money received from the sales of the album went to support the striking workers of the newspaper República. The album is almost unknown in Portugal and includes the songs "Para Não Dizer Que Não Falei de Flores", "Se os Teus Olhos se Vendessem", "Foi no Sábado Passado", "Canta Camarada", "Eu Hei-de Ir Colher Macela", "O Pão Que Sobra à Riqueza", "Os Vampiros", "Senhora do Almortão", "Letra para Um Hino" and "Ladainha do Arcebispo".
In 1976 he supported Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho
Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho
Otelo Nuno Romão Saraiva de Carvalho, GCL , formerly a Portuguese military officer, was the chief strategist of the 1974 Carnation Revolution in Lisbon.-Biography:...
's presidential candidacy. Otelo was an important commander of the 25 April military operations, and Zeca supported him again in 1980. He released the album Com as Minhas Tamanquinhas.
The album Enquanto Há Força, released in 1978, again with Fausto
Fausto
Fausto may refer to:* Fausto Amodei, Italian singer-songwriter* Fausto Bordalo Dias, Portuguese singer-songwriter* Fausto Carmona, Dominican baseball player* Fausto Cleva, Italian-born American operatic conductor...
, shows some of Zeca's concerns about colonialism and imperialism and is also a critique of the Catholic Church.
In 1979 the album Fura Fura was released with the help of the popular artist Júlio Pereira. It contains many songs that were meant for the theatre. He participated in the Anti-Eurovision Festival in Brussels.
Zeca's last years
In 1981, after two years of silence, he returned to Coimbra with his album Fados de Coimbra e Outras Canções. He played in Paris at the Théâtre de la Ville.In 1982 he started to develop the first symptoms of the severe disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis , also referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a form of motor neuron disease caused by the degeneration of upper and lower neurons, located in the ventral horn of the spinal cord and the cortical neurons that provide their efferent input...
(motor neurone disease, or Lou Gehrig's disease in the US). He played in Bruges
Bruges
Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....
at the Printemps Festival.
On 23 January 1983, Zeca, weakened by the disease, played with some difficulty in a huge show with a full house at the Coliseu with Octávio Sérgio, António Sérgio, Lopes de Almeida, Durval Moreirinhas, Rui Pato, Fausto, Júlio Pereira, Guilherme Inês, Rui Castro, Rui Júnior, Sérgio Mestre, and Janita Salomé. At that show the live album Ao Vivo no Coliseu was recorded.
At the end of 1983 he released Como Se Fora Seu Filho, a political testemonial. It contained the following songs: "Papuça", "Utopia", "A Nau de António Faria", "Canção da Paciência", "O País Vai de Carrinho", "Canarinho", "Eu Dizia", "Canção do Medo", "Verdade e Mentira" and "Altos Altentes". The city of Coimbra awardedhim its Golden Medal. "Thanks Zeca, this is your house", the mayor, Mendes Silva, told him. "I don't want to become an institution, but I feel very grateful for the homage", Zeca answered. After that the president, Ramalho Eanes, wanted to give him the Order of Liberty, but Zeca refused to fill the papers.
In 1983 José Afonso was reinstated in his official teaching position, whence he had been expelled in 1968; he was sent to Azeitão
Azeitão
Azeitão is a region near Setúbal composed by a cluster of small "aldeias" or small villages, some of those are: Vila Fresca de Azeitão, Vila Nogueira de Azeitão,Brejos de Azeitão, Aldeia de Irmãos, Vendas de Azeitão....
. His sickness started spreading and his health got worse.
In 1985 his last album, Galinhas do Mato, was released. Zeca was unable to sing all the songs on the album, being replaced by Luís Represas ("Agora"), Helena Vieira ("Tu Gitana"), Janita Salomé ("Moda do Entrudo", "Tarkovsky" and "Alegria da Criação"), José Mário Branco ("Década de Salomé", duet with Zeca), Né Ladeiras ("Benditos") and Marta Salomé ("Galinhas do Mato"). Musical arrangements are by Júlio Pereira and Fausto
Fausto
Fausto may refer to:* Fausto Amodei, Italian singer-songwriter* Fausto Bordalo Dias, Portuguese singer-songwriter* Fausto Carmona, Dominican baseball player* Fausto Cleva, Italian-born American operatic conductor...
. The album also included "Escandinávia Bar-Fuzeta" and "À Proa".
In 1986 he supported the presidential candidacy of Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo, a progressive Catholic woman; she was not elected.
José Afonso died in Setúbal
Setúbal
Setúbal is the main city in Setúbal Municipality in Portugal with a total area of 172.0 km² and a total population of 118,696 inhabitants in the municipality. The city proper has 89,303 inhabitants....
on 23 February 1987, at 3 am, a victim of the sclerosis that had been diagnosed in 1982. His funeral in Setúbal was attended by 30,000 people. The procession took two hours to cover 1300 meters. His coffin was covered with a red flag with no symbols, as he had wished, and it was borne by, among others, Sérgio Godinho
Sérgio Godinho
Sérgio Godinho, OL is a Portuguese poet, composer, and singer. He was born on August 31, 1945 in Porto, Portugal, and is one of the most influential popular musicians in Portugal...
, Júlio Pereira, José Mário Branco, Luís Cília and Francisco Fanhais.
Legacy
On 18 November 1987, the Associação José Afonso was created with the objective of fulfilling Zeca's intentions in the areas of Portuguese music and art.In 1991, the city of Amadora
Amadora
Amadora is a city and a municipality in Portugal, in the northwest of the Lisbon Metropolitan Area. The city and municipality population is 175,872 in eleven freguesias . With an area of 23.77 km², it is the most densely populated municipality of Portugal...
inaugurated a 12-foot statue of Zeca Afonso in the city's Central Park.
On 30 June 1994, as part of Lisboa-94, European Capital of Culture, a festival in homage to Zeca took place. Many Portuguese musicians, both veterans and younger artists, joined in the tribute festival, called "Filhos da Madrugada" ("Children of Dawn", the title of one of Zeca's most famous songs). Earlier that year, BMG had released an album with the same title as the festival, and with the same artists performing their own versions of Zeca's songs.
Performers at this event included Brigada Victor Jara, Censurados, Delfins, Diva, Entre Aspas, Essa Entente, Frei Fado D'El Rei, GNR, Madredeus, Mão Morta, Opus Ensemble, Peste & Sida, Resistência, Ritual Tejo, Sérgio Godinho, Sétima Legião, Sitiados, Tubarões, UHF, Vozes da Rádio, and Xutos & Pontapés.
Thirteen years earlier, Zeca had remarked that "If rock is the musical style that the young prefer, then we should ask for good quality rock music".
In 1995 José Mário Branco, Amélia Muge, and João Afonso, Zeca's nephew, released another album in homage to Zeca, called Maio, Maduro Maio, that included many of his songs and two previously unreleased ones, "Entre Sodoma e Gomorra" and "Nem Sempre os Dias São Dias Passados".
For the 10th anniversary of Zeca's death, in 1997, EMI released for the first time in CD format the 1964 album Baladas e Canções.
In 1998, Vitorino and Janita Salomé took part in a concert in homage to José Afonso, included in Expo'98's programme.
In 2007 he was elected the 29th Greatest Portuguese
Os Grandes Portugueses
Os Grandes Portugueses was a public poll contest organized by the Portuguese public broadcasting station RTP and hosted by Maria Elisa. Based on BBC's 100 Greatest Britons, it featured individual documentaries advocating the top ten candidates...
.
Discography
- 1960 – Balada do Outono, Rapsódia
- 1962 – Baladas de Coimbra, Rapsódia
- 1963 – Dr. José Afonso em Baladas de Coimbra, Rapsódia
- 1964 – Ó Vila de Olhão, EMI/Valentim de Carvalho
- 1964 – Cantares de José Afonso, Columbia/Valentim de Carvalho
- 1964 – Baladas e Canções, Ofir
- 1967 – José Afonso, ?
- 1968 – Cantares do Andarilho, Orfeu
- 1969 – Menina dos Olhos Tristes, Orfeu
- 1969 – Contos Velhos Rumos Novos, Orfeu
- 1970 – Traz Outro Amigo Também, Orfeu
- 1971 – Cantigas do Maio, Orfeu
- 1972 – Eu Vou Ser Como a Toupeira, Orfeu
- 1973 – Venham Mais Cinco, Orfeu
- 1974 – Coro dos Tribunais, Orfeu
- 1974 – Viva o Poder Popular, LUAR
- 1974 – Grândola, Vila Morena, Orfeu
- 1975 – República, Lotta Continua/Il Manifesto/Vanguardia Operaria
- 1976 – Com as Minhas Tamanquinhas, Orfeu
- 1976 – José Afonso in Hamburg, Portugal Solidaritat
- 1978 – Enquanto Há Força, Orfeu
- 1979 – Fura Fura, Orfeu
- 1981 – Fados de Coimbra e Outras Canções, Orfeu
- 1983 – Como se Fora seu Filho, Sassetti
- 1983 – Ao Vivo no Coliseu, Sassetti
- 1983 – Zeca em Coimbra, Foto Sonoro
- 1985 – Galinhas do Mato, Transmédia
Posthumous releases
- 1987 – Os Vampiros, Edisco
- 1993 – Zeca Afonso no Coliseu, Strauss
- 1996 - De Capa e Batina, Movieplay
- 1997 – Baladas e Canções, EMI (2nd edition)
- 2001 – José Afonso, Movieplay
- 2007 – As Últimas Gravações, CNM