Marisa Silva Rocha is a Portuguese-American Fadista, brought up in the “Little Portugal” neighborhood of San Jose California, and currently resides in the Central Valley, in a town called Hilmar.
Her Portuguese lineage comes from both sides of her parents; 1st generation born in the U.S. on her father’s side, and 3rd generation born in San Jose on her mother’s side.
Her father is from Viseu, Portugal and came to the U.S. in the 1980s not knowing anyone, nor a word of English and just $300 to his name, in search of a better life. Her mother was born in San Jose, California as well as her maternal grandfather, and her maternal grandmother was from Sãn Jorge, Azores. Her maternal grandfather’s parents were also originally from the Azores and came to the U.S. in the early 1900’s, and settled in San Jose California, where they started a Dairy partnership business. They were one of the few Portuguese Dairies in the area that remained in business for decades.
She has enjoyed singing since she was a child and began singing Fado in 2016, but has loved Fado music since her late teen years. She has participated in many Fado shows and performances for the American audience, as well as the Portuguese-American audience, within California. She hopes to continue to share the beautiful music of Portugal, Fado, with the world – near and far!
She released her first single, “Alfama” in July of 2021, as well as a featured music video, that can be found on Youtube as well as Facebook. Her single Alfama can be found on all music streaming platforms.
She also was the host of her own radio program, turned podcast, called “AmáCONVERSA”, that featured interviews with local and international figures of the Portuguese community, paired with amazing music, both contemporary and classic. Each episode is also paired with video interviews that can be found on her personal Youtube channel, under Marisa Silva Rocha. To listen to the full audio of all 50 episodes of AmáCONVERSA, tune in to any podcast streaming platform.
She is set to release her first album, as well as second single (her first original Fado, “Este Fado Tão Amado”), on her 33rd birthday – September 30th 2022.
