A sad day for the Portuguese music scene and the Eurovision family, as Maria Guinot has passed away due to a lung infection. She was aged 73.

Broadcaster RTP has announced that Portuguese artist Maria Guinot has passed away.

Maria Adelaide Fernandes Guinot Moreno (Barreiro, Portugal, 1945) had a classical music education and started her career in the late 1960’s. She was known for her touching ballads, such as Criança loura, A canção que eu canto, La mère sans enfant and Toi, mon ami.

Festival da Canção and Eurovision 1984

In 1981 she already participated in Portugals’ Eurovision selection Festival RTP da Canção with the song Um adeus, um recomeço, placing 3rd. In 1984 she won the Festival RTP da Canção with Silêncio e tanta gente (“Silence and so many people”), a warm ballad that ponders life, and thus represented Portugal at the 1984 Eurovision Song Contest in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg.

In the song, Maria describes how she finds words amongst the silence, and her life’s path amidst the crowd. Maria Guinot accompanied herself on the piano during her performance.

Performed as the last entry of the evening, Silêncio e tanta gente eventually placed 11th out of 19 participants, receiving 38 points.

Later career

Maria Guinot released various singles and albums throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s, and collaborated with many other artists. She released her final album Tudo passa in 2004 and the song collection Um mar de sons in 2005.

In 2010, Maria suffered a series of strokes that prevented her to play her beloved piano. She received the Medal of Honour of the Portuguese Society of Authors (Medalha de Honra da Sociedade Portuguesa de Autores) for her artistry in 2011 and made her last public appearance at the Festival da Canção 2014, where she was honoured by broadcaster RTP.

Maria Guinot passed away due to a lung infection in Parede (Cascais), Portugal, on Saturday 3 November, at the age of 73. Family and friends have said farewell to Maria on Sunday evening 4 November in the Parede church, the artist will be cremated and put to rest at the cemetery in Barcarena on Monday 5 November 2018.

ESCToday.com sends sincere condolences to Maria Guinot’s family, friends and fans. She will forever be a part of the Eurovision family.