José "Zeca" Afonso – Cantigas do Maio (1971)

Zeca Afonso continues as one of the most beloved Portuguese singers, decades after his death in 1987. During his long career, Zeca's music was the poetic expression of his revolutionary politics. Beginning his career as a fado singer, his music benefited from years living in both Angola and Mozambique, both Portuguese colonies at the time. Zeca's politics, already forged by involvement in both student and workers movements in Portugal, evolved with his observations of brutal colonial rule in Mozambique, as well as the incipient armed rebellion led by FRELIMO.

Cantigas do Maio is considered Zeca's best record, and it arguably is his most important. The B-side begins with "Grândola, Vila Morena," the song that became the anthem of the revolutionary movement to overthrow the fascist, Salizarian dictatorship that had ruled Portugal for decades. It also was used in April 1974 to coordinate the revolutionary military forces that overthrew the fascist government, in a practically bloodless coup popularly known as the Carnation Revolution: the song was broadcast on the national radio to signal the beginning of action.

While "Grândola, Vila Morena" is iconic, all of the songs on this album are powerful and memorable. Zeca's unique voice was perfectly suited for his activist role. It's a voice desperately needed now, in every language, to contend with pan-global repressive forces.

Enjoy! Then act.