Lia de Itamaracá

Lia de Itamaracá born Maria Madalena Correia do Nascimento (born 1944) is a Brazilian singer and songwriter. She appeared singing in the 60s but she did not emerge internationally until the 1990s. She sings and dances in the ciranda style in her 80th year.

Life

Maria Madalena Correia do Nascimento was born on 12 January 1944. Itamaracá comes from the island Ilha de Itamaracá which is off the coast of the Northeast Brazilian state of Pernambuco. She sings and dances ciranda, which comes from Pernambuco and it has been described as "a tribalistic ritual" combining dance and singing and "Christian and pagan values".

She was singing in the 1960 when Teca Calazans noted that she had been given a tune by Lia from Itamaraca and from that she became "Lia de Itamaraca". The exhibition notes that it will be her 80th birthday in January.

In June 2023 she was chosen for an award for her cultural contribution together with cultural journalist Juarez Fonseca, fellow singer Chico Science and artist Renato Matos. The award was made in Brasília in June 2023 at the 7th "Music Professionals Award".