Born on October 30th: MARO, or the revival of Portuguese music

She was born in Lisbon in 1994. Her languid voice breathes new life into the traditions of saudade and fado, as well as indie folk.

It's not really a surprise to find out that little Mariana Brito da Cruz Foriaz Secca (her full legal name) heard music swirling around her crib from a very young age. Born into a family of musicians, she discovered the ivory of the piano at the age of four. As a teenager, she learned guitar and graduated with honors from the Lisbon Conservatory in 2011. After briefly considering veterinary studies, she couldn't resist the lure of the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston for long. It was hard to go back after that, and we're certainly not complaining!

A prolific singer-songwriter, she chose MARO as her stage name and set the bar very high to launch her career by releasing no fewer than five albums in 2018: Maro Volumes 1 through 3, a collaboration with Manuel Rocha, and the reassuring It’s OK (in English) as a highlight. The least one can say is that MARO never does anything halfway. During the Covid pandemic, she refused to succumb to depression and organized remote duets with Portuguese artists such as Rui Veloso and even with Eric Clapton, without dwelling too much on her opposition to vaccination…

In 2022, she released the album Can You See Me? and also represented her country at Eurovision. Her captivating voice, stripped-down style, and her Saudade, Saudade (even with a touch of electronica) stand out in the surrounding maelstrom. She nevertheless reached the Top 10 without compromising her style. Hortela, her latest collection of songs exclusively in Portuguese, was recorded with Catalan guitarists Dario Barroso and Paul Figueres, with whom she then toured as an acoustic trio.

(MH with Stéphane Soupart - Photo : Etienne Tordoir)

Photo: MARO on stage at the Orangerie du Botanique in Brussels (Belgium) on September 1, 2024