Cristina Branco was born in December, 1972, in Almeirim, Ribatejo, Portugal… Read Full Bio ↴Cristina Branco was born in December, 1972, in Almeirim, Ribatejo, Portugal, where she still lives. Her music is deeply rooted in tradition, yet essentially modern.

She grew up far from the fado houses of Lisbon and nothing suggested that she was predestined for the fado. Like almost all young Portuguese born after the revolution of 1974, she was interested in folk music, jazz, blues, bossa nova but not in fado. She regarded it as a genre for a different generation. This lasted until her 18th birthday, when her grandfather gave her the album Rara e Inédita by Amália Rodrigues. Suddenly, Cristina Branco discovered all the emotions that the genre could offer in the close connections that arose among voice, poetry and music. The amateur singer - then studying communication sciences and still full of her ambition to become a journalist - began to develop her vocal technique and to take her new vocation seriously.
After that, Cristina studied the poems from which major fado lyrics are taken.
Since then, Cristina has worked on her fado repertory, accompanied by Custódio Castelo on guitar and as composer.

Halfway through the nineties, other young musicians also found a new means of expression in the fado and this contributed to a surprising renaissance. Just as they did, Cristina Branco began to make clear choices in which respect for the tradition went hand in hand with the desire for renewal.
There can be no doubt that Cristina Branco is developing her own style from a number of primary components. She employs a traditional group (voice, Portuguese guitar, guitar and bass guitar) and offers us concurrently a light, warm and experienced voice; she mixes the traditional fado with themes and folk songs that are personal favourites and seems always to choose the words of the best Portuguese, or even Dutch poets with discretion.

Pastoras Da Estrela
Cristina Branco Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Pastoras para Estrela
Vão cantando e animadas
A vida em flor, nenhum amor que as torne malfadadas
C’oa Primavera a palpitar à serra vão chegar

No prado verde, cheiros mil
Mal rompe o sol a aurora
Com mantos vão, um rancho são de moças encantadas

Dançam em roda, alegres estão saudando a alvorada

Ao longe no horizonte luz
O bronze aguçado da guerra vem
Guerreiros cem, o louro festejado
Entram na dança, magia no ar p'la noite a repousar

No Outono é hora de voltar
Para a aldeia engalanada

Pastoras vão, mas já não são meninas encantadas
A serra é vida; a estrela é mãe, outras vão no ano que vem

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Cristina Branco's song "Pastoras Da Estrela" paint a picture of a group of shepherdesses, making their way up the hills to tend to their flocks. There is a sense of excitement and adventure in their journey, as they sing and dance along the way. The lyrics describe a group of young women who are carefree, unattached and living in the moment, enjoying the beauty of nature around them. They dance in a circle as they greet the dawn on a green meadow filled with the aroma of spring.

However, there is a somber note in the midst of their happiness as the lyrics mention the approaching war on the horizon. Nonetheless, the glamorous warriors who arrive bring magic into the air and join in the dance. As the year progresses to Autumn, the shepherdesses return to their village, and the song concludes with a reassurance that more will come next year.

The pastoral theme in the song is a reference to the countryside, with the lyrics symbolising a simple, straightforward lifestyle. The song captures a moment in time of joy and celebration with an acknowledgment that life changes over time, and nothing stays the same forever.

Line by Line Meaning

Pastoras para Estrela
Shepherds to the Star

Vão cantando e animadas
They go singing and lively

A vida em flor, nenhum amor que as torne malfadadas
Life in bloom, no love that makes them ill-fated

C’oa Primavera a palpitar à serra vão chegar
With Spring pulsating, they'll arrive at the mountain

No prado verde, cheiros mil
In the green meadow, thousand scents

Mal rompe o sol a aurora
As soon as the sun breaks the dawn

Com mantos vão, um rancho são de moças encantadas
With cloaks, they're a group of enchanted maidens

Dançam em roda, alegres estão saudando a alvorada
They dance in circle, happily greeting the sunrise

Ao longe no horizonte luz
In the distance on the horizon, light

O bronze aguçado da guerra vem
The sharpened bronze of war is coming

Guerreiros cem, o louro festejado
Hundred warriors, the celebrated blonde