Zeca Afonso

José Afonso, known as Zeca Afonso,

was an important Portuguese singer

and composer.

José Manuel Cerqueira Afonso dos Santos, known as Zeca Afonso, was born

on August 2nd, 1929 in Aveiro, Portugal. He spent the most part of his life in

Coimbra.

When he was 10 years old, he moved to Coimbra in order to continue his

studies. He studied at D. João III High School. He lived with his aunt since his

family moved to East Timor, a Portuguese overseas territory at that time, where

his father worked as a judge.

Zeca Afonso

He lived in two different houses in Coimbra.

In 1959 he started singing in his trademark musical style, coloured

with political and social connotations, in many popular groups around

the country. This granted him a growing popularity among the

working class and the rural population.

In May 1964, José Afonso played in the Musical Society Workers'

Brotherhood in Grândola, where he found the inspiration to compose

the song Grândola Vila Morena. Later, this song would be the signal

(broadcast by the national radio channel) to start the Portuguese

Revolution, “Revolução dos Cravos” in 1974.

From 1974 to 1975 he was directly involved in the popular

revolutionary movements. The PREC (Ongoing Revolutionary Process)

became his passion.

Zeca Afonso

José Afonso died in Setúbal on 23 February 1987, at 3 am,

victim of the sclerosis that had been diagnosed in 1982. His

funeral was attended by 30,000 peoplein Setúbal .

The procession took two hours to cover 1300 meters.

Zeca Afonso