Olavo Bilac (Porto Amélia, Mozambique, December 26, 1967) is a Portuguese singer and one of the most charismatic and beloved voices on the Portuguese musical scene. Vocalist of bands such as Santos & Pecadores – one of the most successful Portuguese bands of the 1990s -, Resistência and Zeca Semper. At the moment, he has a solo career.
Biography
Son of a Cape Verdean who grew up in Macau and was an employee of Banco Nacional Ultramarino in Mozambique, Olavo received the same name as his father, given by his grandmother Cristina Lima in honor of the Brazilian poet Olavo Bilac. He was born on December 26, 1967 in Porto Amélia, Mozambique, where he attended primary school, interrupting this cycle with the revolution of April 25, 1974, which forced his family to send him and his brothers to Portugal. He finishes his primary and secondary education in Portugal.
In 1987, he formed the band Santos & Pecadores, a project that continues today and where he began as the band’s bassist. As a vocalist was needed, Olavo Bilac began to hum the first songs and was soon accepted by the band, mainly due to the different timbre that so characterizes his voice.
He continues his studies in the area of graphic design that he is studying at IADE, and in 1993, while in his final year, he interrupts his studies to join the Resistência project. During the year that this project was active, it gained enormous popularity and revealed to the world the band Santos & Pecadores, which released its first album, “Onde Estás?”, in 1995.
He participates in several projects by other musicians, including “Portugal a Cantar”, with Miguel Ângelo, Miguel Gameiro, Anabela and Rita Guerra.
In 1997, he released, with Paulo Gonzo, a new version of “Jardins Proibidos”, an original song by the latter musician. This two-person version was instrumental in the resumption of Paulo Gonzo’s career. In 2002 he participated in the film “Pulsação Zero”, by director Fernando Fragata, with the character Tranças.
In 2002 he gave voice to the themes of the film “Spirit-Espírito Selvagem”, a huge box office success. In 2008 he voices the prison chief Comandante Vachir, in the film “Kung Fu Panda”.
Olavo Bilac is today an unavoidable name in music in Portugal and in Portuguese-speaking countries, with his constant participation in albums and concerts by the most prestigious Portuguese and African singers. His natural friendliness and image give him a consensual and transversal notoriety.
In the field of solidarity, he regularly participates in public and private parties. He actively participates as godfather of the NGO Aldeias SOS, having been protagonist of the 2009 campaign, together with Nuno Eiró.
In 2010, Olavo Bilac was one of the names participating in the ZECA SEMPRE project, which pays homage to Zeca Afonso, having enormous expression at national level. This project was a partnership with singers Nuno Guerreiro and Tozé Santos (Per7ume), as well as producer Vítor Silva.
In November 2012, Santos & Pecadores’ career album was released, commemorating the band’s 20 years of existence. The CD / DVD recordings took place at the Centro Cultural de Belém, produced by Mário Barreiros and directed by RTP.
In 2014, he launched in a different way, with the album “Músicas do Meu Mundo”, where he paid homage to Portuguese-speaking music. In 2018, he returned to pop, with a solo career, and released the song “Não Aqui”.
In 2019 he released the theme “1001 Razões” and that same year celebrated “25 Years of Songs”, with a tour with more than 60 dates, from north to south of Portugal, as well as in the Azores and Madeira archipelagos.
I have loved him for many years now