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.

Redondo Vocàbulo
Cristina Branco Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Era um redondo vocábulo
Uma soma agreste
Revelavam-se ondas
Em maninhos dedos
Polpas seus cabelos
Resíduos de lar,
Pelos degraus de Laura
A tinta caía

No móvel vazio,
Congregando farpas
Chamando o telefone
Matando baratas
A fúria crescia
Clamando vingança,
Nos degraus de Laura
No quarto das danças
Na rua os meninos
Brincando e Laura

Na sala de espera
Inda o ar educa

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Cristina Branco's song Redondo Vocábulo depict a scene of chaos and frustration. The first line, "Era um redondo vocábulo," can be translated to mean "It was a round word," which may allude to a meaningless or circular conversation or situation. The next line, "Uma soma agreste," which translates to "A harsh sum," further reinforces this idea of something difficult or unpleasant.

The following lines describe various actions and images, such as "Revelavam-se ondas" (waves revealing themselves), "Polpas seus cabelos" (her hair pulpy), "A tinta caía" (the ink was falling), and "Matando baratas" (killing cockroaches). These lines paint a picture of disorder and messiness, with things falling apart and being undone.

The final lines of the song, "Nos degraus de Laura / No quarto das danças / Na rua os meninos / Brincando e Laura / Na sala de espera / Inda o ar educa," describe a contrast between the chaos of the previous verses and a sense of order or normalcy. The children are playing outside, Laura is dancing in her room, and there is a sense of education or cultivation in the air. This may suggest that despite the difficulties and messiness of life, there are still moments of beauty and hope.

Line by Line Meaning

Era um redondo vocábulo
It was a round, meaningless word

Uma soma agreste
A wild, rugged sum

Revelavam-se ondas
Waves were revealing themselves

Em maninhos dedos
In delicate fingers

Polpas seus cabelos
Caressing her hair

Resíduos de lar
Remnants of home

Pelos degraus de Laura
On Laura's steps

A tinta caía
The ink was falling

No móvel vazio
On the empty furniture

Congregando farpas
Gathering splinters

Chamando o telefone
Calling the phone