“A talented and dedicated woman, a historical reference in Lisbon’s Popular Marches, has passed away, but the memory of a great artist remains!”, writes the minister on her official page on the social network X, also sending condolences to the artist’s family and friends.
Actress and fado singer Anita Guerreiro passed away today, shortly after midnight, during her sleep at the Casa do Artista in Lisbon, where she had resided since 2018 and continued to sing, confirmed a source from the institution.
Anita Guerreiro was the professional name of Bebiana Guerreiro Rocha, born in Lisbon, in the parish of Anjos, on November 13, 1936. She started singing at the age of seven among family and friends at the Sport Clube do Intendente, in the neighborhood where she was born.
Morreu Anita Guerreiro, uma voz do Fado que também se afirmou no teatro de revista e na televisão. Desaparece uma mulher talentosa e dedicada, referência histórica das Marchas Populares de Lisboa, mas fica a memória de uma grande artista! Condolências à família e amigos.
— Margarida B Lopes (@margaridalopes) December 7, 2025
Anita Guerreiro became known to the public on February 17, 1954, through the song contest Tribunal da Canção, part of the highly popular radio program at the time, “Comboio das Seis e Meia.” A neighbor nominated her for the contest of that program, by José Castelo and José Marques Vidal (1922-1985).
The fado singer made her debut soon after at the Teatro Maria Vitória, in Parque Mayer, in the capital, in the revue “Ó Zé Aperta o Laço.”
For the artist, this date marked the beginning of her career, as she was still a child singing as an amateur in some neighborhood leisure associations in Lisbon.
She recalled to Lusa: “I was still a minor and had a special authorization from Colonel Óscar de Freitas [from the General Inspection of Shows] to perform.”
With a career spanning over 70 years, Anita Guerreiro appeared in several television series and soap operas, such as “Olhos de Água” (2001), “Casa da Saudade” (2001), “A Outra” (2009), “Velhos Amigos” (2011), and “Esta Vida é uma Cantiga” (2019), never abandoning her roots in fado.
In 2004, the artist told Lusa that she owed her popularity with “a younger age group” to television, after the break she took in the 1970s when she went to live in the United States.
“It was from the soap opera ‘Olhos de Água’ that the younger ones began to pay attention to me. When they pass by, they always say, ‘look, there goes the fado singer,'” she recounted.
The artist then said that “if she could choose, she would be an actress.” “I prefer being an actress to singing; I don’t mean that I don’t like singing and don’t commit myself, but what truly satisfies me is being an actress,” said Anita Guerreiro, renowned for her voice and hits like “Festa é Festa,” “Chico Marujo de Alfama,” “Lisboa Ribeirinha,” and the timeless “Cheira Bem, Cheira a Lisboa.”
“Ai, ai Lisboa,” “Boneca de Trapos,” “Santo António veio a Alfama,” “Sardinhada,” and “O Fumo do meu Cigarro” are other hits of hers.
Among the awards she received during her career are two popularity Oscars from the Portuguese community in Newark, USA, in 1987 and 1988, as well as the Pelourinho da Cidade de Lisboa, presented by the former Mayor of Lisbon, João Soares, a distinction usually reserved for heads of state.
A Gold Caravel, and in 2004, the Keys to the City, awarded by the Lisbon City Council, and an Honorary Membership of the Portuguese Association of Fado Friends (APAF) in March 2004, were other distinctions she received.
“The voice is silenced, but the legacy of this great Lady of the Portuguese artistic scene remains forever. Rest in peace, dear Anita Guerreiro,” writes the Casa do Artista on its official Facebook page, with the details of the actress and fado singer’s obsequies still unknown.
