Mayra Andrade facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mayra Andrade
Background information
Born	(1985-02-13) 13 February 1985 (age 40) Havana, Cuba
Origin	Cape Verde
Genres	Morna Funaná Batuque Coladeira Colá Jazz Afrobeats World music
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instruments	Voice
Years active	2001–present

Mayra Andrade (born February 13, 1985) is a talented singer from Cape Verde. She is known for her beautiful voice and for mixing different music styles. Today, she lives and records her music in Lisbon, Portugal.

Early Life and Travels

Mayra Andrade was born in Havana, Cuba. Her parents were from Cape Verde. Just a few days after she was born, her family moved back to Cape Verde.

Mayra spent her early years in Cape Verde. However, her father worked as a diplomat for the Cape Verdean government. This meant her family traveled a lot. As a child, she lived in many different countries. These included Senegal, Angola, and Germany. Even with all the traveling, she spent about two months each year on the Cape Verdean island of Santiago.

In 2002, when Mayra was 17, she moved to Paris, France. She lived there until late 2015. Then, she moved to Lisbon, Portugal, where she lives now.

Languages and Musical Roots

Mayra Andrade speaks many languages. However, most of the songs on her albums are in her native Cape Verdean Crioulo language. She remembers her first song was "O Leãozinho" by the Brazilian musician Caetano Veloso. She has said that Caetano Veloso is one of her biggest musical inspirations.

Music Career Highlights

Mayra Andrade started performing when she was a teenager. At 17, she began taking voice lessons in Paris. During this time, she met a composer named Orlando Pantera. They started working together on music. Mayra then began to perform in places where people speak Portuguese. This included cities in Cape Verde like Mindelo and Praia, as well as Lisbon.

Collaborations and Albums

In 2011, Mayra worked with a group called Trio Mocotó. They made a song called "Berimbau" for a special album. This album was part of the Red Hot Organization's project called "Red Hot+Rio 2." The money raised from this album helped to spread awareness and fight against serious health issues like AIDS/HIV.

Mayra's fourth album, Lovely Difficult, came out in November 2013. She said this album was different from her first three. It was more like pop music and less traditional. She worked with artists from the United States, Israel, France, and the United Kingdom. The songs on this album were in Portuguese, Cape Verdean Creole, French, and English.

Her fifth album, Manga, was released on February 8, 2019. This album was recorded in Paris and Abidjan. It mixes different music styles, including afrobeats, urban music, and traditional Cape Verdean rhythms.

Working for Human Rights

Since 2015, Mayra Andrade has been a special ambassador for a United Nations campaign. This campaign is called "Free and Equal." It works to promote human rights and equality for all people in Cape Verde.

Awards and Recognition

Mayra Andrade has won several awards for her music.

• In 2001, at age 16, she won a songwriting contest at the Jeux de la Francophonie.
• She won the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik (German Record Critics Award) for her album Navega in 2007. She won it again for Stória, stória... in 2009.
• In 2008, she won the Newcomer award at the BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music.
• In 2013, she was nominated for the music category of the 21st Femmes en Or prize.
• In 2014, her album Lovely Difficult was nominated for the Victoires de la Musique Award in France. This was in the World Music category.

Discography

Albums

See also

In Spanish: Mayra Andrade para niños