Ana Sofía Varela was born in Lisbon, although she grew up in the countrysid… Read Full Bio ↴Ana Sofía Varela was born in Lisbon, although she grew up in the countryside (Serpa, Alentejo), where she lived until a few years ago, when she returned to the capital.

Her first contact with fados came as she listened to songs by Amália, at the age of 10. By the time she was 14 years old, she had become an increasingly popular fixture at local fado clubs and schools.

Her commitment to and contact with traditional Alentejo music has been a constant factor since her childhood. She created her own repertoire from fados by Amália and Nuno de Câmara Pereira and the lyrics of Rui Veloso, Vitorino and Resistência.

She then took part in a number of local fado competitions, and reached the finals of the Portuguese TV programme "Selecçao Nacional" as “the most beautiful and interesting voice of the Music Festival 95”. In 1997 she was invited to sing at a fado club in Lisbon, and on that occasion Carlos Zei introduced her to the famous Portuguese guitarist Mário Pacheco, with whom she later sang at many concerts (Macao, Japan, Italy etc.). She was subsequently invited to join the team of permanent artistes at "Clube de Fado", where she is a regular fixture.

Another important connection was her relationship with António Chaínho, who invited her to guest on a CD, " A guitarra e Outras Mulheres", with Marta Dias, Teresa Salgueiro (Madredeus) and Filipa Pais. This subsequently evolved into a European tour.

At Expo 98 she took part in "De Sol a Lua- Flamenco & Fado", a tour of Spain, Germany, Holland and Switzerland. In 1999 she accepted João Braga’s invitation to sing at a number of concerts, and this produced another CD, "Cem Anos de Fado".

The launch of the "Ana Sofía Varela" CD in 2002 marked the beginning of a new direction in her career: the public discovered “the fado they had been waiting for for so long”. This album arose from the "De Sol a Lua- Flamenco & Fado" tour, during which two of the composers, João Monge and João Gil, introduced her to Manuel Paulo Felgueiras de Alas dos Namorados, who produced the CD.

"I was given the chance to sing what I wanted to sing, all the songs I love to sing: classical fados, new songs, experimental songs influenced by flamenco … of course, everything I sing sounds like a fado, because that’s what I am – a fado singer."

Nor did she forsake her origins: "My childhood in Serpa gave me so much contact with music in Alentejo and Spanish music. João Monje is from the same area, and while we were working on the CD we would chat about local traditions, and I asked him to write a poem about all these things ("Ducados"). Manuel Paulo was then inspired by flamenco and Alentejo music for the musical arrangements with Pedro J'oia on flamenco guitar ... this became a homage to my musical and personal relationship with Serpa.”

On the poetry side, the great Vasco Graça Moura heard her singing "Las Letras do Fado Vulgar" live, and offered her a book of poems based on the fado. Mário Pacheco also features on two songs in the album.

She claims that "Ana Sofía Varela" is a dream come true, at the right time, with the right people. Songs about Love, Passion, Hope – these are the deepest emotions that anyone can ever feel ..."

Ducados
Ana Sofia Varela Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Tens no lenço um coração
Com duas letras bordadas
Só tu sabes de quem são
E porque são encarnadas

E porque são encarnadas
Como a rosa e o botão
Com duas letras bordadas

Tens no lenço o coração

Ninguém sabe aonde vais
Fazem disto uma adivinha
Talvez que tu dês sinais
À tarde pela fresquinha

À tarde pela fresquinha
Pela hora dos pardais
Fazem disto uma adivinha
Ninguém sabe aonde vais

Voltas sempre com Ducados
Dentro da tua jaqueta
Mais um lenço com bordados
Os olhos cor de boleta

Os olhos cor de boleta
São da cor dos meus pecados

Dentro da tua jaqueta
Voltas sempre com Ducados

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Ana Sofia Varela's song "Ducados" tell the story of a person who carries a heart on a handkerchief embroidered with two letters. The heart, represented in the handkerchief, is encarnada – a shade of red like the rose and the button. The singer is the only one who knows who the two letters belong to, and the significance behind them. The lyrics emphasize the secrecy and mystery surrounding the individual who carries the heart on the handkerchief, highlighted in the phrase "Ninguém sabe aonde vais” ("No one knows where you go”). The individual is described as possibly signaling in the late afternoon, turning in circles always carrying ducados (a brand of Spanish cigarettes) inside their coat and another handkerchief with embroideries, all while having blue eyes reminiscent of a butterfly's color.

The song captures a sense of nostalgia, sadness, and mystery. It implies that the individual carrying the heart on the handkerchief is longing for someone or something they cannot have or is involved in a secret affair, which serves as a metaphorical representation of the heart in the handkerchief. The repeated use of the phrase "Com duas letras bordadas" ("With two embroidered letters") emphasizes the symbolic weight of the heart carried in the handkerchief, revealed only to the individual who carries it. The lyrics’ powerful imagery and poetic language make the story compelling, leaving the listener to wonder about the heart's ownership and the reasons behind the singer's secrecy.

Line by Line Meaning

Tens no lenço um coração
You carry a heart inside your handkerchief

Com duas letras bordadas
With two letters embroidered

Só tu sabes de quem são
Only you know whose letters they are

E porque são encarnadas
And why they're red

E porque são encarnadas
Because they're like roses in bloom

Como a rosa e o botão
With the letters embroidered in the shape of a rose

Com duas letras bordadas
Again, with two letters embroidered

Tens no lenço o coração
You carry your heart in your handkerchief

Ninguém sabe aonde vais
No one knows where you're going

Fazem disto uma adivinha
It's a mystery to everyone else

Talvez que tu dês sinais
Maybe you give subtle hints