Vitorino Salomé Vieira (Redondo, Portugal, June 11, 1942), or just Vitorino, as he is known, is a Portuguese singer. His music combines traditional folklore, mainly from Alentejo, and the popular style of his voice.
Vitorino was born into a family of musicians in Redondo. Since he was born, he listened to music at home, played by his uncles, and it was always in this environment that he grew up, as well as his four brothers, all equally musicians. Vitorino is the third of the five; singer Janita Salomé is fourth.
He met Zeca Afonso, who he became friends with, when he was recruiting in the Algarve. He settled in Lisbon from the age of 20, where he associated with the night, the gatherings and bohemian pleasures. In 1968 he entered the Fine Arts Course, but before that he had started to paint.
Emigrated to France, he studied painting and, to survive, washed dishes in restaurants. It was here that a friend told him that he earned more singing in the street or on the subway than washing dishes. He experienced it: it was true. He dropped the cymbals and grabbed the guitar.
Also in Paris, he joined, among others, Sérgio Godinho and José Mário Branco, also emigrants.
He collaborated on records by José Afonso, Coro dos Tribunais, and Fausto. He performed in the famous March 1974 concert, I Encontro da Canção Portuguesa, which took place at the Coliseu dos Recreios. That year, he released his first single: Morra Quem Não Tem Amores.
He participated in the album Cantigas de Ida e Volta together with other names such as Fausto, Sheila and Sérgio Godinho.
In 1975, he debuted with his first album, which included one of the most important songs in the Portuguese imagination: “Menina Estás à Janela”. On the album Semear Salsa ao Reguinho there are also songs like “Cantiga d’um Marginal do Séc. XIX”, “The Spring of Autumn”, “Song of a Summer Strike” and “Die Who Doesn’t Have Love”.
In 1977, the album Os Malteses was released, which includes “Oh Beja, Terrível Beja”, an evocation of the time when he completed his mandatory military service in that city. Vitorino was also the producer of the album Ó Rama Ó Que Linda Rama by Teresa Silva Carvalho, released that year.
The Grupo de Cantadores do Redondo, of which he was a member, released the album O Cante da Terra in 1978.
The album Não Há Terra Que Resista – Contraponto, which includes the theme “Dá-me Cá Os Braços Teus”, was released in 1979.
Romances, published in 1980, has the special collaboration of Pedro Caldeira Cabral. “Indo Eu Por I Baixo” and “Laurinda” are some of the songs on this album.
The album Flor de la Mar, released in 1983, included themes such as “Queda do Império”, with Filipa Pais, “Cervejaria da Trindade”, “Marcha Ingénua” and “Dama de Copas”.
Leitaria Garrett is released in the autumn of 1984. “Tinta Verde”, “Leitaria Garrett”, “Tragédia da Rua das Gáveas”, “Andando Pela Vida”, “Poema”, “Menina Estás À Janela” (with the Opus Ensemble) and “Postal to D. João III” are some of the themes.
In December 1985, the album Sul was edited with themes such as “Meninas”, “Sul” and “Homens do Largo”. A year later, the maxi-single “Joana Rosa” was released.
The album Negro Fado, co-produced by António Emiliano and José Manuel Marreiros, was released in April 1988. The album includes songs such as “Vou-me Aos”, “Negro Fado”, “Flor de Jacarandá” and a version in Creole. from “Joana Rosa”. The album wins the José Afonso Prize. Cantigas de Encantar, with the participation of his nephews, was released in November 1989. The disc includes a book with ten popular stories.
In 1990 he appeared with the quartet Lua Extravagante, with Filipa Pais and her brothers Janita and Carlos Salomé. The homonymous album appeared in 1991 with songs like “Lua de Papel”, “Ilha” or “Adeus Ó Serra da Lapa”.
With the album Eu Que Me Comovo Por Tudo E Por Nada, from 1992, with texts by António Lobo Antunes, he won the José Afonso/93 Prize and the Se7e de Ouro/92 for popular music. The best-known songs on this album are “Bolero by Coronel Sensível Que Fez Amor Em Monsanto”, “Tango by the Unfaithful Husband at a Pensão do Beato” and “Ana II”.
In 1993, the compilation As Mais Bonitas was edited with re-recordings of “Laurinda” and “Menina Estás À Janela” and Vitorino’s recording of “Ó Rama Ó Que Linda Rama”.
The album A Canção do Bandido, released in November 1995, includes songs such as “Nomes do Amor”, “Fado da Prostituta”, “Tocador de Concertina” and “Fado Alexandrino”. It is one of the candidates for the José Afonso Prize.
He was the founder of the Rio Grande project along with Rui Veloso, Tim, João Gil and Jorge Palma. The debut album was published in December 1996. In December 1997 the album “Dia de Concerto” was released with live recordings by Rio Grande.
Vitorino, Janita Salomé, Rui Alves, Ricardo Rocha and João Paulo Esteves da Silva presented at the CCB, within the framework of the 100 days of Expo-98 festival, the two shows “A Utopia e a Música” where they presented a lesser-known repertoire by Zeca Afonso.
With the Brazilian Elba Ramalho, he participated, in 1999, in one of the Atlântico programs by Eugénia Melo e Castro.
In 1999 he recorded an album in Cuba with Septeto Habanero. “Desde El Día En Que Te Vi” and “Toda Una Vida” were the most highlighted themes of the album La Habana 99.
He participated, with Pedro Barroso and Isabel Silvestre, in Fenprof’s campaign to put the Timorese education system back on its feet. The album Uma Escola Para Timor, from 2000, features songs by teacher and musician Rui Moura.
In November 2001, Alentejanas e Amorosas was published. The disc includes the themes “I’m Going to Go Partir”, “Alentejanas and Amorosas”, “My Dear Corto Maltese”, “Ausência em Valsa”, “Cão Negro”, “Constança”, “Bárbara Rosinha”, “Dona dos Brown Eyes”, “Passion and Doubt”, “Mariana à Janela”, “Heart to God Will Give” and “Guerrilha Alentejana”. It also includes the theme from the series “Estação da Minha Vida”.
The compilation As Mais Bonitas 2 – Ao Alcance da Mão was published at the end of 2002. It includes the unpublished “Galope” and “O Dia Em Que Me Queiras”. He collaborates on one of the themes of the Cabeças No Ar project.
Ao Alcance da Mão is the name of a songbook, published in June 2003 by D. Quixote publishing house, with 25 songs from his repertoire. The book is accompanied by a CD where he interprets the themes “Menina Estás à Janela”, “Queda do Império” and “Alentejanas e Amorosas”.
The album Os Amigos – Coimbra arranged by António Brojo and António Portugal features Vitorino, Luís Góis, Janita Salomé, Almeida Santos, Manuel Alegre, among others.
In April 2004, the album “Utopia”, by Vitorino and Janita Salomé, was released, with the recording of the two concerts held at the CCB in February 1998. which had the collaboration of names such as Rui Veloso, Manuel João Vieira and Sílvia Filipe.
Completing 30 years of career, in February 2006 the compilation Tudo was published with 50 songs on three thematic discs subordinated to O Alentejo, Lisboa and O Amor.
In April 2006, Manuel Freire, Vitorino and José Jorge Letria sang Abril to the youngest on the album Abril, Abrilzinho, which was released through the newspaper Público and whose book featured texts by Coronel Vasco Lourenço and Alice Vieira.
On the 9th and 13th of May 2007, he gave live concerts in Lisbon, at Teatro da Trindade, which resulted in the CD entitled AO VIVO — Vitorino a preto e white.
In 2009 he publishes the CD TANGO, El Perro Negro Canta, recorded in Buenos Aires, Argentina, but with three themes recorded in Lisbon, which he dedicated to the memory of the painter João Vieira, who illustrated the covers for him from the CD Tudo e é pai by the musician Manuel João Vieira, from Ena Pá 2000.)
For the commemoration of the centenary of the establishment of the Republic, on October 5, 2010, with the collaboration of Jornal de Notícias and Montepio Geral and the support of the Cultural Fund of the Portuguese Society of Authors, it publishes a CD of 2 originals entitled Viva A República , Live.
To celebrate his 35 years of career, he gives concerts at the Lisbon Coliseums (10.OCT.2011) and Porto, which he called “35 Anos a Semear Salsa ao Reguinho”, in an allusion to his 1st LP, accompanied by the beautiful Orquestra das Beiras, with origin and strong connection to the University of Aveiro, to which he invites some friends to also be on stage, whether musicians or non-musicians.
On the 16th of September 2016, he gives a concert in Moimenta da Beira, on a night in which the Choral and Ethnographic Group “Os Camponeses de Pias”, of Alentejo singing, also took to the stage.
In 2022, he makes a television appearance on The Voice Portugal, singing “Queda do Império” with finalist Daniel Fernandes.
