Sou Luz

It has been over a decade since Dona Rosa went from street singer in Lisbon’s Baixa to a world sensation on some important stages such as WOMEX. But somehow she never left the streets. You can still find her discreetly singing herfado against the wall in one of the city’s main arteries, the same Rua Augusta where she was originally discovered. In her music too, the streets are also kept close by, a symbolical place that welcomes both fado and Portuguese rural traditions. In a way, Dona Rosa acts like a reminder of fado’s origins: being a blind singer, her artistry could be taken as the modern day descendent of the cançoes dos ceguinhos (blind men’s songs), a form of singing local news in the 19th century, and paid for like a newspaper.

The fact that Rosa Martins came from the streets gives her an undeniable authenticity. She is someone who channels her whole life through her voice and who lived for/from her art in a basic survival mode. Sou Luz doesn’t betray that fundamental truth. But while she keeps on exploring a popular approach to fado, what we hear in the background becomes more elaborate with a small ensemble, getting closer to a chamber-like ambience every now and then. ‘Beija Flor’ takes her to Brazilian waters; ‘Lago de Ontem’ doesn’t hide its flamenco twist. But apart from a couple of exceptions, Dona Rosa’s popular fado doesn’t shake our senses or force time to stand still. It doesn’t really depart from exactly what one would expect of it before pressing play.