Mariana Aydar

Flying the flag for MPB (Música Popular Brasileira), Mariana Aydar (born into a musical family on 8 May 1980 in São Paulo) has been building a dedicated following in her native country since first stepping out in 2000 as a backing vocalist for Miltinho Edilberto, whose repertoire largely skews towards forró. Mariana Aydar's father, Mário Manga, was a member of the group Premê, and her mother Bia Aydar has produced music by Brazilian artists including Lulu Santos and Luiz Gonza. A chance rendezvous with the legendary samba modernizer Seu Jorge in Paris helped to push Mariana Aydar's career forward, and after opening for the aforementioned artist on his 2005 European tour, she began sowing the seeds of her debut album. Kavita 1 was released in 2006 and the following April, her song "Deixa o Verão" was featured on the soundtrack of the teen series Malhação on Rede Globo. That same year, she was nominated for the Revelation Award at the VMB (Video Music Brasil), held by MTV. Her second album, Peixes, Pássaros e Pessoa, landed in 2009, and her third album, Cavaleiro Selvagem Aqui Te Sigo—released two years later—was a collaborative effort with conductor, composer, and arranger Letieres Leite from Orkestra Rumpilezz, embracing Afro-Brazilian rhythms among other styles. Released in August 2015, her fourth album, Pedaço Duma Asa, was created in collaboration with artist Nuno Ramos. After unleashing the "Te Faço Um Cafuné" single in 2016, a string of EPs throughout 2019 paved the way for her fifth album that December, Veia Nordestina, which picked up the Latin Grammy for Best Portuguese Language Roots Album at the 21st Annual Latin Grammy Awards. Aqui em Casa, Vol. 1 followed in 2021 and in 2024 she joined forces with Brazilian accordionist and songwriter Mestrinho for the collaborative album Mariana e Mestrinho.