Maria Bethânia Viana Telles Veloso, better known as Maria Bethânia, was born on June 18, 1946, in Santo Amaro da Purificação, Bahia, Brazil.
Maria Bethânia started her career as a recording artist in 1965 and has been growing with each of her numerous albums. In the course of these years, Maria Bethânia wore off the mannerisms of her early years and developed an interpretive style that uniquely combines coolness and sensuality, serenity and dedication. Today, the sister of Tropicália protagonist Caetano Veloso is in a class of her own in Brazil, comparable only to legendary singer Elis Regina who died in 1982.
Caetano e Bethânia Ao Vivo by Caetano Veloso and Maria Bethânia won the 2026 Global music album Grammy Award.
Discography:
Maria Bethânia (RCA, 1965)
Edu e Bethânia (Elenco, 1967)
Maria Bethânia (EMI, 1969)
A Tua Presença… (Philips, 1971)
Vinicius + Bethânia + Toquinho en La Fusa (Mar de Plata) (RGE, 1971)
Drama (Philips, 1972)
Pássaro proibido (Philips, 1976)
Pássaro da manhã (Philips, 1977)
Álibi (Philips, 1978)
Mel (Philips, 1979)
Talismã (Philips, 1980)
Alteza (Philips, 1981)
Ciclo (Philips, 1983)
A beira e o mar (Philips, 1984)
Dezembros (RCA, 1987)
Maria (RCA, 1988)
Memória da pele (Polygram, 1989)
25 anos (Polygram, 1990)
Olho d’água (Polygram, 1992)
As canções que você fez pra mim (Polygram, 1993)
Las canciones que hiciste para mí (Philips-PolyGram, 1993)
Âmbar (EMI, 1996)
A força que nunca seca (Sony Music, 1999)
Maricotinha (Sony Music, 2001)
Cânticos, preces, súplicas à Senhora dos jardins do céu na voz de Maria Bethânia (Biscoito Fino, 2003)
Brasileirinho Quitanda, 2003)
Que falta você me faz Músicas de Vinicius de Moraes (Biscoito Fino, 2005)
Pirata (Quitanda, 2006)
Mar de Sophia (Biscoito Fino, 2006)
Omara Portuondo e Maria Bethânia (Biscoito Fino, 2007)
Encanteria (Quitanda, 2009)
Tua (Biscoito Fino, 2009)
Oásis de Bethânia (2012)
Boxed sets:
Maria Bethania Box (Universal Music)
Maria Bethania Box 2 (Universal Music)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.