Ramana Vieira

Lágrimas de Rainha [Tears of a Queen]
Released: March, 24, 2009
Record Label: Pacific Coast

Album Review
When American musicians see song titles in Portuguese, the first thing that comes to mind is Brazilian music. That's certainly understandable; Brazil is the largest country in South America, and a lot of great pop and jazz has come from Brazil. But there is a whole other world of rich Portuguese-language singing: fado, which comes from Portugal itself. And in the United States, one singer who has been a strong proponent of fado is Ramana Vieira (who grew up in Northern California but has Portuguese parents). A prominent influence on Lágrimas de Rainha (Tears of a Queen) is the late Amália Rodrigues (who, arguably, was to fado what Edith Piaf was to French chanson and Celia Cruz was to salsa), and there are also hints of Dulce Pontes (who was born almost 40 years after Rodrigues) in Vieira's soulful, torchy performances. But instead of going out of her way to emulate her influences, Vieira demonstrates that she is her own person -- and she does that in Portuguese most of the time, although she performs mostly or entirely in English on "Amália" (a tribute to Rodrigues), "United in Love," and "My Country Portugal." This 50-minute CD has its share of traditional, time-honored fado gems (including "Maria Lisboa," "Fado Marujo," and "Coimbra"), but Vieira is far from a fado purist. A fado purist would not do any singing in English, and a fado purist would not incorporate jazz and American adult contemporary the way that Vieira does at times. But the fact that Vieira does all of those things is a plus; she is well aware of fado's rich history, although the expressive singer obviously isn't afraid to carve out an appealing identity of her own. And that willingness to take chances serves Vieira well on the promising Lágrimas de Rainha. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
Releases
Year Type Label Catalog #:
2009 CD Pacific Coast 76101


- Bill Board Magazine

“The long and noble tradition of Portuguese fado is ably updated by Ramana Vieira on this very good CD. Her fluid
interpretation of low key lyrics brings out the melancholy soul of the music while never allowing the mood to become
anything but uplifting. Some of the songs come from the established repertoire, some of them having also been sung by
Amália Rodrigues, the singer to whom this album is dedicated and who is the queen referred to in the title. For anyone new
to fado, which has been likened to the blues for its lyrical tales of loss and separation, this CD will be an informative
delight.”
– Bruce Crowther, jazz journalist and author

- Bruce Crowther, jazz journalist and author

Local Fado Artist Ramana Vieira completely embraces her Portuguese heritage, bringing her emotionally charged music to live audiences around the Bay Area. The daughter of Portuguese immigrants, Vieira grew up not knowing much about her culture – her family focused more on their adopted American heritage. By her late 20s, Vieira felt disconnected from her ethnicity and began intensive training in her parents’ native tongue. Combining her performing arts background from American Conservator Theater in San Francisco and her fascination with the Fado songs of Portugal, Vieira found her cultural identity. “[Fado songs] put me in touch with the deep heritage of being Portuguese and woke up my soul,” she says. Vieira is a natural at the music, which feels reminiscent of American blues, but incorporates a haunting, emotive Portuguese flavor.

Now Vieira is an accomplished Fado singer with a second album, Despi a Alma, and a fan base in both the United States and Portugal. She has traveled to Portugal and performed in authentic Fado houses where audiences could not distinguish her from native singers. After her travels, Vieira had found her calling. “I knew I was on my path because this was so natural to me,” explains Vieira.

- Alameda magazine

CASTRO VALLEY-Suddenly it's fashionable to be a fadista.

San Leandro native Ramana Vieira is enjoying every minute of it. "It's in my soul. It's my passion to sing this music," Vieira says of the fados -plaintive Portuguese songs - that she performs backed by a mandolin and guitars.

Vieira took the stage Sunday afternoon in front of more than 200 people at the annual Lisbon Festival at the Castro Valley Community Center.

Organizers say the turnout at the festival on Sunday was one of the largest in the history of the annual celebration.

The gathering was mostly an older crowd - longtime area residents such as Manny Silva, 82, whose family left Madeira Island in 1911 and eventually made its way to the East Bay - but Vieira said her music is beginning to attract all sorts of people.

"There's been a new underground fado movement," she said, citing the modern fado diva Mariza, with whom she once shared a stage. "It's tapping into a younger generation." Vieira and her band have performed at the Castro Valley event for several years. The event is a fund-raiser for the Centro Social Monsignor Julio Martins in Ligares, Portugal, a day-care and social service center founded in 1982.

Mary Martins, the niece of Msgr. Martins, a Hayward clergyman who died in 1964, said the resurgence of interest in Portuguese arts often comes from Portuguese descendants who were born in the U.S.

"It's usually the second or third generation who go back to the roots," Martins said. Along with Vieira and her band, Sunday's event featured a performance by a multigenerational San Pablo-based folk dance troupe, "Portugal na California."

Vieira said in order to learn how to sing fados; she first had to learn how to speak Portuguese. Her family, also from Madeira Island, had passed down only a small amount of Portuguese language and culture.

But Vieira said as a child, she listened to records from fado legends such as the late Amalia Rodrigues, so the music was part of her upbringing.

Patrick Fahey, who plays a vintage 90-year-old mandolin for Vieira's band, said everyone who comes into contact with the music seems to enjoy it.

"The very first rehearsal, the music just started immediately growing tendrils in my veins," said Fahey, who also teaches math at a San Francisco high school. "Every place we've ever gone, people say, 'Wow, this is really different.'"
- By Matt O'Brien, STAFF WRITER

Ramana Vieira, who sings traditional Portuguese Fado songs, will perform at Lusa Coffee on Saturday, June 19 at 8 p.m. The coffee shop is at 1310 S. Carolina Blvd., Walnut Creek.

Ramana, a graduate of San Leandro High School, received her formal voice and acting training at the American Conservatory of Theater in San Francisco.

She has traveled internationally, and was invited to her parents’ homeland of Madeira, Portugal to perform at the annual wine festival.

When Mariza, the “Voice of Fado” in Portugal, was making a rare West Coast appearance on her Spring 2002 Tour, Ramana was chosen as her only opening act. According to the “Mundo Portuguese,” an international Portuguese magazine, Ramana was called the “new voice of Portuguese World Music” and was featured on the front cover of their January/February 2001 issue.

Ramana composes her music on the piano and is accompanied by some of the Bay Area’s finest musicians. Her music is a combination of Portuguese Fados (traditional songs about “fates”), a splash of Flamenco guitar and captivating rhythms. She as sung in Portugal’s Fado clubs and has toured New Orleans, Florida and New Mexico with her group. They have performed for the past four years at the Lisbon Festival I Castro Valley which raises money for the Centro Social Manager Julio Martins’ Foundation Children’s Day Care Center in Ligares, Portugal.

Ramana signed her first recording contract two years ago. Her first CD entitled “Sem Ti” (Without You) has been distributed internationally and is available in local record stores. Her new CD is entitled “Despi A Alma” (Undress My Soul), which has original songs as well as fados made popular by the late Amalia Rodriques.



- By Doris Marciel

FADO’S RISING STAR

RAMANA VIEIRA-, a rising star in world music, performs, Portuguese fado is the specialty of Vieira, whose second album, “Despi A Alma (I Undressed MY Soul), received a Latin Grammy nomination.
The show is Sunday at 7:00 p.m. at the little Fox 2215 Broadway, Redwood City, Tickets are $16.00 to $18.00/.

Ramana composes her own music on the piano and is accompanied by some of the Bay Area's finest musicians. She and her group have performed at various clubs in the San Francisco Bay Area and have toured New Orleans, Florida, and New Mexico. On a recent trip to Portugal, she was able to sing in several of Lisbon's most renowned Fado clubs where she brought the house down. Ramana has performed on television shows (such as "City Sounds", a local Bay Area program).

Ramana has also cut two CD's. Her current CD is entitled Sem Ti, which means "without you" in Portuguese. Her new CD is entitled Despi A Alma (Undress My Soul) has rave reviews. Enjoy this exciting Artist!
- Examiner

Ramana Vieira Ensemble To Play Sunday in Hayward

By : Jim Knowles : 9/27/07

Ramana Vieira found her voice by finding her roots.

She grew up in San Leandro, the daughter of Portuguese immigrants, and studied voice and theater. Then in her late 20s, she began an intensive study of her family’s native tongue.

That led to Portuguese fado songs which Vieira said put her in touch with her soul. The Ramana Vieira Ensemble will be performing this Sunday afternoon at the Hayward Senior Center.

Vieira will be singing romantic ballads and songs from Portugal from 2 to 4 p.m. at the senior center at 22325 North 3rd St. in Hayward.

“I compose my own music,” Vieira said. “People call me a torch singer. I sing a lot of love ballads and melodic fado, a beautiful style of music over 200 years old from Portugal.”

Vieira has performed in Spain and Portugal and she sang at the Winter Olympics in Torino in 2006. She’s been singing for over 20 years.

She grew up in San Leandro and attended Jefferson Elementary, Bancroft Middle School and San Leandro High where she was the homecoming queen.

Vieira’s parents immigrated from Madeira Island, Portugal. She studied voice and acting at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco.

Vieira has two CDs, the most recent is “United in Love,” which she performed at Torino. Tickets for the show are $12 in advance, $15 at the door.






- Jim Knowles 9/27/07

Go to press pagge for review:
http://www.ramanavieira.net

AlamedaMagazinePic.jpg
- Alameda Magazine

Portuguese fado While she was born in San Leandro to Portuguese immigrants, Ramana Vieira didn't discover her love of Portuguese music until her 20s, when she started to sing jazz, blues and show tunes. She released her first fado album, "Sem Ti (Without You)" in 2001 to much critical acclaim from the Portuguese media, and her second album, "Despi A Alma (I Undress My Soul") was nominated for a Latin Grammy. When she toured Portugal, audiences could not distinguish her from native singers. 2 p.m. Sun. Free, but donations accepted. Spanish Table, 1814 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley. (510) 548-1383. - Lisa Hix San Francisco Chronicle