Zeca Afonso, one of the most emblematic composers and singers of the song of Coimbra

Zeca Afonso, one of the most emblematic composers and singers of the song of Coimbra, was born in 1929, in Aveiro. He arrived in Coimbra at just 11 years old and it was here that he completed high school and attended the “Faculdade de Letras” of the University of Coimbra.

His strong connection to the city of students is marked by his irreverence towards academic traditions, the musical journey he followed during the more than two decades he lived in the city and the contribution he gave to Coimbra’s music. Zeca Afonso was part of the “Orfeon Académico de Coimbra” and the “Tuna Académica” of the University of Coimbra, where he was already proving to be an excellent interpreter of the Song of Coimbra and where, even today, he is regularly sung and remembered. Between 1962 and 1968, Zeca Afonso created the first intervention songs and, with his friend and guitarist Rui Pato, toured the country with shows where the music represented a weapon against Salazar’s dictatorship of the time. Zeca thus led a unique political and musical intervention style, becoming a symbol of resistance against Salazar’s dictatorship. He was arrested several times by PIDE. In 1971, he released “Cantigas do Maio”, an album that included the famous song “Grândola Vila Morena”, a song that would become “the password” signal of the Armed Forces Movement in the coup of April 25, 1974, remaining one of the most significant aspects of the revolution.

After April 25, 1974, Zeca continued to defend freedom by supporting various movements, in Portugal and in other countries, and resumed his teaching career. It was at the Coliseums in Lisbon and Porto that he gave his last shows, in 1983. He died in 1987, a victim of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

In Coimbra, two of the places where Zeca Afonso lived are identified, as a tribute: in the mythical “Sé Velha” square, one of the buildings displays two small tiles “In this House lived the troubadour of freedom, José Afonso (Zeca)”; and number 110 “Avenida Dr. Dias da Silva” is duly marked “on the 2nd floor of this building lived from 1940 until the end of the decade, the student and singer José Afonso“.