Maria Isabel Rebelo Couto da Cruz Roseta (born 2 December 1981), known professionally asCuca Roseta, is a Portuguesefado singer, composer, and model. Roseta is considered one of the most important fado representatives of her generation, appearing early in her career in the movieFados by Spanish director Carlos Saura. Fado, a musical genre that originated inLisbon in the early 19th century, is traditionally characterized by feelings of resignation and melancholia, but Roseta's style also incorporates more upbeat influences fromworld music. She has released seven studio albums with producers includingGustavo Santaolalla andNelson Motta, has toured extensively, and collaborated with different artists including David Bisbal, Karl Jenkins, and Stewart Sukuma. Roseta has appeared on the television showsGot Talent Portugal,Rising Star, andThe Voice Kids Portugal as a judge, and as a competitor inDancing with the Stars. She has worked toward causes such as road safety and environmental sustainability, and in 2021 gave a series of hospital concerts to the health professionals fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cuca Roseta began her musical career by singing in her church choir; she then became a rock singer after being recruited by her friendTiago Bettencourt to the groupToranja during her teenage years.[1] Roseta entered thefado scene at the age of 19,[2] singing in Lisbon fado clubs in theAlfama district.[1] She was encouraged to pursue a career in fado by the owner of Clube de Fado, guitarist Mário Pacheco, as well as by singersCarlos Zel, andAna Moura.[3] In 2006, Roseta competed inRTP'sFestival da Canção with the song "As Minhas Guitarras",[4][5] and in 2007 she appeared in theGoya Award-winning filmFados by the Spanish filmmakerCarlos Saura.[6]
In 2009, Roseta recorded the advertisementPingo Doce e venha cá for the Portuguese supermarket chainPingo Doce.[7]
Cuca Roseta's first album was released in 2011 and was produced byGustavo Santaolalla,[8] who saw her perform at the Clube de Fado.[9] After this initial encounter, in which Roseta was not aware of the Argentine producer's identity,[3] she had to wait four years to record the album due to Santaolalla's busy schedule.[10]
In 2013, Roseta recorded the albumRaíz (in English: Root), which was produced by Mário Barreiros. Roseta wrote most of the album's songs.[11]
Roseta invited the Brazilian producerNelson Motta to collaborate on her third album; Motta agreed to produce the album although he had not recorded an album for more than ten years.[12] The 2015 album calledRiû brought together several genres and many significant figures of world music such asBryan Adams,Djavan,Ivan Lins,Zeca Afonso,Dorival Caymmi,Júlio Resende,Sara Tavares andJorge Drexler.[13] With Motta's knowledge ofworld music the record reinvented songs with different origins in a "world fado" style,[14] departing from the traditional sadness of fado with cheerful rhythms and positive lyrics.[15]
In 2017, Roseta's fourth studio albumLuz, which was produced by Diogo Clemente, was released. The album contains several original songs by Roseta and compositions by artistsPedro da Silva Martins, Jorge Fernando,Carolina Deslandes,Hélder Moutinho and Mario Pacheco.[16] The album's release was preceded in mid-October by the release of the single "Balelas". In July 2018, the track "Don't Be Late" was released as a second single.[17]
Roseta released her fifth albumLuz de Natal—a Christmas album with Portuguese versions of songs such as "Jingle Bell Rock" and "White Christmas"—in 2018.[18] She published a book of poetry in 2019 called "One hundred poems by Cuca Roseta".[19]
Her 2020 albumAmália Por Cuca Roseta is a tribute album of songs from the repertoire ofAmália Rodrigues.[20] In December 2020 Cuca Roseta released the albumMeu (in English: Mine), with all the themes written and composed by her, which is unprecedented in the fado genre.[21] The album was presented in an online live concert on December 2, the day of her birthday.[22]
In 2023 she released the albumRayana in collaboration with Spanish guitaristDaniel Casares.[23]
Cuca Roseta has toured extensively, performing in more than 30 countries,[24] giving individual concerts and participating in music festivals such asMEO Sudoeste in 2011. In 2015, Roseta performed more than 120 concerts, both in Portugal and abroad.[25] That year, she participated inBadasom, aflamenco and fado festival inBadajoz, Spain, where she sang a duet withNiña Pastori.[26] In 2019, she sang inHavana during the celebration of the centenary of diplomatic relations between Cuba and Portugal.[27] In 2020 she performed at theTeatro Real during the Madrid fado festival,[28] participated in an event in Buenos Aires celebrating the 100th birthday of Amália Rodrigues,[29] and sang thePortuguese national anthem at the opening of the2020 Portuguese Grand Prix.[30] In April 2021 she sangLisboa inspira, the official anthem for Lisbon European Sports Capital 2021, composed by herself, at a ceremony attended by the Minister of Education of PortugalTiago Brandão Rodrigues, and the coach of the Portuguese national soccer teamFernando Santos.[31][32] At the end of the same month she was invited by the Spanish flamenco musicians Daniel Casares, guitar, andJorge Pardo, flute and saxophone, to present their project called Supertrío in a performance at theTeatro del Soho in Málaga.[33] In May 2025 she opened the 4th edition of the Estremoz Fado Festival.[34]
Roseta has done several commercials throughout her career, and served as brand ambassador for diverse companies and products such asMitsubichi Motors,[40] theGuess clothing brand,[8] eyewear,[41] jewelry,[42] and nutritional supplements.[43] She did a travel guide video highlighting her favorite spots in Lisbon, as part of a 2018 promotional campaign byAvani Hotels & Resorts.[44] In 2022, Cuca Roseta partnered with the Portuguese coffee brand Kaffa to promote the company’s emphasis on national identity. As part of the collaboration, she hosted the six-episode podcastKaffa com Alma (Kaffa with Soul), featuring conversations with guests about inspiring personal experiences.[45]
Cuca Roseta's style incorporates influences formjazz,bossa nova, andworld music,[46] but maintaining the purity, minimalism and simplicity of traditional fado and emphasizing narrative and meaning.[47] Roseta has shown her versatility and curiosity with multiple international collaborations. She has sung in languages other than Portuguese, for example on the songs "Bésame Mucho" withJulio Iglesias,[48] and "Tum Hi Ho", aBollywood hit byMithoon. In her live performances Roseta includes both traditional songs and more modern pop, commercial ballad and Brazilian-style songs.[49]
Critics have highlighted her "transcendental emotion",[24] and the elegance of her performances.[50]
Cuca Roseta is the daughter of Miguel da Cruz Roseta and Maria Natércia Rebelo Couto, and paternal niece ofPedro Roseta, a former Minister of Culture in Portugal.[1] She has a son named Lopo and a daughter called Benedita, born in 2016. Roseta's husband João Lapa, proposed during one of her concerts inPorto while she was performing on stage.[51] They were married by the church in 2017 inObidos, where she sang "Ave Maria" during the wedding.[52] Lapa works as a conditioning and rehabilitation coach for the Premier League teamWolverhampton Wanderers F.C.[53][54]
Outside music, Cuca practices painting, yoga, meditation, and is a black belt intaekwondo.[8][55] She first studied law but did not finish, changing to a degree in psychology with a postgraduate degree in marketing.[1][42]
Roseta has contributed to diverse causes such as improving road safety and nature conservation. She partnered with the Automóvel Clube de Portugal to release the single "We'll all safely get home", which she performed at the 2013 gala of theInternational Automobile Federation.[56] In 2019, Roseta was announced as ambassador for the Mirpuri Foundation, a non-profit organization focused in environmental sustainability.[57] During February 2021 she gave the "Music with hope" series of concerts for health professionals fighting against theCOVID-19 pandemic, a joint initiative with Hyundai Portugal. These events took place in hospitals throughout Portugal such as the Hospital Dr Nélio Mendonça inFunchal, Madeira,[58] theÉvora hospital,[59] theFaro hospital,[60] and the Gaia and St. João Hospitals inPorto.[61] In April 2021 she participated in the project to recover theSerra de Monchique after it was devastated by fires in 2018. She appeared in the third episode of a web series, showing the results of the reforestation efforts.[62]
^abcMarco, Luis Miguel (8 January 2017)."Cuca Roseta, la novia del fado".El Periodico (in Spanish).Archived from the original on 5 September 2020. Retrieved5 September 2020.
^Frota, Gonçalo (31 March 2011)."Cuca nas mãos de Gustavo".Ipsilon (in Portuguese).Archived from the original on 6 December 2018. Retrieved5 September 2020.
^""Riû": Nuevo album de Cuca Roseta".The Concert in Concert (in Spanish). 20 June 2015. Archived from the original on 6 September 2020. Retrieved6 September 2020.
^Ojeda, Alberto (27 November 2013)."Cuca Roseta | El Cultural".El Cultural (in Spanish).Archived from the original on 2 September 2020. Retrieved6 September 2020.
^Marco, Luis Miguel (8 January 2017)."Cuca Roseta, la novia del fado".El Periódico de Aragón (in Spanish).Archived from the original on 28 August 2020. Retrieved6 September 2020.
^Tamele, Alcides (3 June 2014).""Os Sete Pecados" de Stewart em CD".Jornal Notícias (in European Portuguese).Archived from the original on 26 November 2020. Retrieved26 November 2020.
