Mário Henriques
PORTUGUESE GUITAR
He fell in love with Fado and Portuguese Guitar at a young age and developed his technique in several fado houses, academic fado groups and in several performances, not only in Portugal, but also abroad. In 1996 he stops acting in fado houses and starts to dedicate himself to live shows, acquiring extensive experience and recognition from his peers.
BIOGRAPHY
Mário Henriques began his studies in music at the age of 11, at Academia de Música de Matosinhos. At the age of 13, his interest for Fado emerged, while he learned, among amateurs, to play several fados with his guitar. It didn’t take too long for him to fall in love with the Portuguese Guitar: he learned the first chords with Francisco Seabra, an amateur guitarist, and six months later he was already participating in small Fado shows.
In the following years, he developed his knowledge about Portuguese Guitar, through a self-taught process. In 1991, he is invited to join the cast of A Taverna de S. Jorge and, a year later, begins to work in the typical restaurant O Fado, where he stayed for four years. During this period he also joins the group Quadrifonia, that is responsible for a fusion between classical music and Portuguese popular music.
During his university years, he collaborated with Grupo de Fados de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto, with whom he developed his knowledge about Coimbra’s Fado. He also composed many arrangements of traditional fado songs for Grupo de Fados e Baladas de Coimbra, with whom he also performed.
In 1996 he leaves the fado houses, and starts dedicating himself, exclusively, to live shows, in Portugal and abroad.
In 2001 he is invited by the “Porto 2001” organization to a concert at Mosteiro S. Bento da Vitória, where he had the opportunity to work with some of the best Fado artists, such as Hélder Moutinho, Beatriz da Conceição, Camané and Mafalda Arnauth.
Nowadays, along with his activity as a civil engineer, he dedicates his time to live shows, both as a accompanist and as a soloist, and manages his own recording studio.