Date
26/6/2026

Joana Santos, a student in Custódio Castelo’s class at the School of Applied Arts (ESART) of the Castelo Branco Polytechnic (IPCB), has just released the single Sangue do Chão. This track is part of the EP, which also features two fados, including Lisboa e o Tejo, and precedes the debut album by the artist, who aims to combine her vocal talent with the feminine touch of the Portuguese guitar.

The title track, which won first place in the Best Song category at the Festival Canção Rural in Borba – where the young singer represented the municipality of Castelo Branco – pays homage to Portuguese traditions, particularly the grape harvest cycle and the picking of grapes, symbolising labour, theland and the wine-making process. In this way, the artist seeks to evoke the connection between identity, tradition and collective memory, whilst also incorporating traditional sounds and instruments from the Beira Baixa region. 

With lyrics by Rui Tanoeiro and music co-written by the author and Custódio Castelo, the track was recorded at Estúdio Pé De Vento and released by World Music Records, part of País Real. The album, currently in production, is produced by the master of the Portuguese guitar, edited by Fernando Nunes, and features contributions from musicians João Nunes (accordion), Rui Marques (fado viola, Beira viola), Horácio Pio (acoustic bass) and Filipe Oliveira (percussion and adufe). 

Born in Leiria, Joana Santos, aged 20, is currently in her third year of a Bachelor’s degree in Music – Instrumental specialisation (Portuguese guitar) at ESART-IPCB. Her musical journey began in 2015 in Loulé, in José Alegre’s class, with whom she completed the eighth grade at the local Conservatoire. In 2021, Custódio Castelo invited her to the Guitarra D’Alma VIII festival in Almeirim, for a concert dedicated to the guitarist Luísa Amaro. The following year, she appeared on SIC’s Casa Feliz programme to promote a tribute concert to Carlos Paredes on the programme A Voz do Operário.  

Alongside her solo career, the student founded MAR DUO, where the Portuguese guitar, vocals and accordion blend different cultures and repertoires, and she is a member of the band Somos os D’Alma, a project that fuses popular music with fado. She represented ESART’s emerging talents at the Amália Rodrigues Festival in Fundão and performed at the opening of the Ah Amália venue in Marvila. In 2026, she took part in the programme Em Casa de Amália (RTP), in an episode focusing on the ESART class; in the event Notas Musicais no Feminino, organised by Castelo Branco City Council; and in Praça da Alegria (RTP). 

On the educational front, the artist – who is set to become one of the new faces of Rádio Amália – has taught at the Covilhã Regional Music Conservatoire and currently teaches the Portuguese cordofone at the Orfeão de Leiria. 

(photo: Eddy Do Vale)

Cover of the single Sangue do Chão.