Cuca Roseta | |
---|---|
Birth name | Maria Isabel Rebelo Couto Cruz Roseta |
Born | Lisbon, Portugal | 2 December 1981
Genres | |
Occupation(s) | |
Instrument(s) | Vocals |
Labels | Sony Music |
Website | cucaroseta |
Maria Isabel Rebelo de Couto Cruz Roseta (born 2 December 1981), who is known by the stage name Cuca Roseta, is a Portuguese fado singer, composer and model. Roseta is considered one of the most important representatives of the new generation of fado. She has released six studio albums with producers including Gustavo Santaolalla and Nelson Motta, has toured extensively, collaborated with several artists, and has appeared in the Portuguese versions of the television shows Got Talent, Rising Star, and Dancing with the Stars.
Cuca Roseta began her musical career by singing in her church choir; she then became a rock singer after being recruited by her friend Thiago Benttencourt to the group Toranja during her teenage years.[1] Roseta entered the fado scene at the age of 19,[2] singing in Lisbon fado clubs, such as the Clube de Fado in the Alfama district.[1] She was encouraged to pursue a career in fado by the owner of Clube de Fado, guitarist Mário Pacheco, as well as by singers Carlos Zel, and Ana Moura.[3] In 2006, Roseta competed in RTP's Festival da Canção with the song "As Minhas Guitarras",[4][5] and in 2007 she appeared in the Goya Award-winning film Fados by the Spanish filmmaker Carlos Saura.[6]
In 2009, Roseta recorded the advertisement "Pingo Doce e venha cá" for the Portuguese supermarket chain Pingo Doce.[7]
Cuca Roseta's first album was released in 2011 and was produced by Gustavo Santaolalla,[8] who saw her perform at the Clube de Fado, in Alfama.[9] After this initial encounter, in which Roseta was not aware of the Argentine producer's identity,[3] she had to wait four years to record the album due to Santaolalla's busy schedule.[10]
In 2013, Roseta recorded the album Raíz, which was produced by Mário Barreiros. Roseta wrote most of the album's songs.[11]
Roseta invited the Brazilian producer Nelson Motta to collaborate on her third album; Motta agreed to produce the album although he had not recorded an album for more than ten years.[12] The 2015 album called Riû brought together several genres and significant figures of world music such as Bryan Adams, Djavan, Ivan Lins, and Jorge Drexler. This album includes cheerful rhythms and positive lyrics, which is a departure from the traditional sadness of fado.[13]
In 2017, Roseta's fourth studio album Luz, which was produced by Diogo Clemente, was released. The album contains several original songs by Roseta and compositions by artists Pedro da Silva Martins, Jorge Fernando, Carolina Deslandes, Hélder Moutinho and Mario Pacheco.[14] The album's release was preceded in mid-October by the release of the single "Balelas". In July 2018, the track "Don't Be Late" was released as a second single.[15]
Roseta released her fifth album Luz de Natal—a Christmas album with Portuguese versions of songs such as "Jingle Bell Rock" and "White Christmas"—in 2018.[16] Her 2020 album Amália by Cuca Roseta is a tribute album of songs from the repertoire of Amália Rodrigues.[17]
Cuca Roseta has toured extensively, performing in more than 30 countries,[18] giving individual concerts and participating in music festivals such as MEO Sudoeste in 2011. In 2015, Roseta performed more than 120 concerts, both in Portugal and abroad.[19] That year, she participated in Badasom, a flamenco and fado festival in Badajoz, Spain, where she sang a duet with Niña Pastori.[20] In 2019, she sang in Havana during the celebration of the centenary of diplomatic relations between Cuba and Portugal.[21] In 2020 she performed at the Teatro Real during the Madrid fado festival,[22] participated in an event in Buenos Aires celebrating the 100th birthday of Amália Rodrigues,[23] and sang the Portuguese national anthem at the opening of the 2020 Portuguese Grand Prix.[24]
Cuca Roseta has had many television appearances, mainly in Portugal.[25] She was part of the experts' panel in Rising Star: A próxima estrela and a judge in the third and fourth seasons of Got Talent Portugal.[26] She competed in Dança com as Estrelas ("Dancing with the Stars Portugal"),[27] and gave a clue in an episode of The Amazing Race Australia 3. In 2014 Bryan Adams photographed five Portuguese female singers, including Cuca Roseta, which appeared in covers for Vogue Portugal,[28] and were presented in the "Exposed" exhibition at the Cascais cultural center.[29]
Roseta has done several commercials throughout her career, and served as brand ambassador for diverse companies and products such as Mitsubichi Motors,[30] the Guess clothing brand,[8] eyewear,[31] jewelry,[32] and nutritional supplements.[33] She did a travel guide video highlighting her favorite spots in Lisbon, as part of a 2018 promotional campaign by Avani Hotels & Resorts.[34]
While rooted in traditional fado, Cuca Roseta's style incorporates influences form jazz, bossa nova, and world music[35] respecting the purity, minimalism and simplicity of fado and emphasizing the songs' narrative and meaning.[36] Roseta has shown her versatility and curiosity with multiple international collaborations. She has sung in languages other than Portuguese, for example on the songs "Bésame Mucho" with Julio Iglesias,[37] and "Tum Hi Ho", a Bollywood hit that was composed by Mithoon. Roseta includes both traditional songs and more modern pop, commercial ballad and brazilian-style songs.[38]
Critics have highlighted her "transcendental emotion",[18] and the elegance of her performances.[39]
Cuca Roseta is the daughter of Miguel da Cruz Roseta and Maria Natércia Rebelo Couto, and paternal niece of Pedro Roseta, a former Minister of Culture in Portugal.[1] She has a son named Lopo and a daughter called Benedita, born in 2016. Roseta's husband João Lapa, proposed during one of her concerts in Porto while she was performing on stage.[40] They were married by the church in 2017 in Obidos, where she sang "Ave Maria" during the wedding.[41] Lapa works as a conditioning and rehabilitation coach for the Premier League team Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.[42][43]
Outside music, Cuca practices painting, yoga and is a black belt in taekwondo.[8] She first studied law but did not finish, changing to a degree in psychology with a postgraduate degree in marketing.[1][32] Roseta has contributed to diverse causes such as improving road safety and nature conservation. She partnered with the Automóvel Clube de Portugal to release the single "We'll all safely get home", which she performed at the 2013 gala of the International Automobile Federation.[44] In 2019, Roseta was announced as ambassador for the Mirpuri Foundation, a non-profit organization focused in environmental sustainability.[45]