Cristina Branco

With nearly 30 years of career, 19 released albums and countless concerts all over the world, Cristina Branco is an tireless ambassador for Portuguese culture and language. Traditional music is her main aesthetic root, but the influence of jazz, literature, and the musicians she shares the stage with lend her music a universal character and sublime charm.

She began her career in Holland, with the album Cristina Branco in Holland (1997), which became a huge success in that country. In the following years, Cristina’s name exploded throughout Europe, with sold-out dates in countless venues and cities. Her following works, Murmúrios (1998) and Post-Scriptum (2000) reinforced the success of her first album, and Cristina was awarded two Prix Choc, the prestigious prizes given by the French magazine Le Monde de La Musique.

Despite her accomplishments abroad, it was only at the turn of the millennium, with Corpo Iluminado (2001), O Descobridor (2002), a double-platinum album, Sensus (2003), and Ulisses (2005), that Cristina Branco finally began to be discovered and acclaimed by the Portuguese public and press. Comparisons with Amália Rodrigues were recurrent and inevitable.

This was followed by Abril (2007), an album with cover versions of songs by José Afonso, Kronos (2009) and Fado Tango (2011), her tenth studio album, which features collaborations with renowned authors and composers such as Mário Laginha, Carlos Tê, and Pedro da Silva Martins. The album shows the first signs that Cristina’s music could have another guise and foreshadows Cristina’s artistic rebirth that would arrive a few years later with "Menina".

Considered Best Record of the Year by Sociedade Portuguesa de Autores (SPA), Menina (2016), is the first chapter of a trilogy that includes the jovial and kaleidoscopic Branco (2018) and Eva (2020). In these works, Cristina brings together unusual collaborations, which cross styles, genres, cultures, and geographies. The result is an innovative and spontaneous interpretation of the traditional musical expression of Fado.

“Mãe“, released in 2023, is a unique musical creation in which Cristina Branco lends her singular and expressive voice to a variety of authors, continuing her artistic tradition. Both on record and on stage, “Mãe” offers audiences an original repertoire that takes them on an immersive journey of rediscovering fado, exploring its emotional depths and nuances. “Senhora do Mar Redondo“, the lead single, is proof of this.

"Mulheres de Abril" (2025) is her a new record, a tribute to the women in José Afonso songs. Available on a exclusive CD & colored vinyl edition, and both digitally, the album includes singles such as "Teresa Torga", "Canção da Paciência", "De Não Saber o Que Me Espera" and "Endechas a Bárbara Escrava". This album earned Cristina Branco the 2026 José Afonso Prize, awarded by the Municipality of Amadora and the PLAY Award for Best Album of Traditional Music.