Portugal: Singer/songwriter Sara Tavares dies aged 45

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Portugal: Singer/songwriter Sara Tavares dies aged 45

11:30 CAT | 20 Nov 2023

Image: Landrick / Facebook

Portuguese singer Sara Tavares, diagnosed with a brain tumour, died on Sunday evening at the age of 45 in Lisbon, a family source told Lusa.

The news of the death of the artist, of Cabo Verde’s descent, was announced by the SIC television station, adding that she was hospitalised at the Hospital da Luz in Lisbon.

Over the last year, Sara Tavares released some new songs after five years of silence. The most recent song, entitled “Kurtidu”, was released last September by Sony Music.

Sara Tavares, who was born in Lisbon in 1978, made her name as a teenager in the 1990s on SIC’s “Chuva de Estrelas” talent show, performing a song by Whitney Houston.

Shortly afterwards, she won the 1994 RTP Song Festival with “Chamar as Música”, a song by Rosa Lobato de Faria and João Oliveira, with which she came eighth in the Eurovision Song Contest for Portugal.

Two years later, in 1996, Sara Tavares made her debut with the album “Sara Tavares & Shout!”.

Over the next two decades, Sara Tavares released several albums that brought her closer to her Cabo Verde roots, most notably “Balancê” (2005), which earned her a platinum disc and a nomination as Breakthrough Artist at the BBC Radio 3 World Music Awards.

In 2011, she won Best Female Voice at the Cabo Verde Music Awards, and the following year she continued her international tour with “Xinti”, the title of the album she released in 2009, which won her the Career Award at the Africa Festival in Germany.

In 2018 she was nominated for a Latin Grammy with her fifth album, “Fitxadu” (2017), in which she deepened her relationship with Cabo Verde’s music, with Manecas Costa, Nancy Vieira, Toty Sa’Med and Kalaf Epalanga among the guests.

As well as her own career, Sara Tavares has collaborated with various names in Portuguese and Lusophone music, including Ala dos Namorados, Dany Silva, Paulo Flores, Buraka Som Sistema and Carlão.

About Sara Tavares

She was a Portuguese singer, composer, guitarist, and percussionist. She was born and brought up in Lisbon, Portugal. Second-generation Portuguese of Cape Verdean descent, she composed African-, Portuguese- and North American-influenced world music.
She has released 6 studio albums

Back in 1994, she performed “Chamar a música” (Eng: Call The Music) and ended in 8th place:

Sara participated in Eurovision at the young age of 16 and was mainly remembered for her distinctive voice and her ability to deliver emotions.

She received points from 13 different countries, including 12 points from Spain, and 8 points from Iceland, Ireland, and the UK.
To date, she has achieved one of the best results for Portugal at the contest

In 2009, Sara Tavares was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

She had to pause her music career between 2009 and 2018.

In 2018, she was one of the interval acts of Eurovision 2018 (which was held in Lisbon)