Portugal | In Memoriam - Dina (1956-2019)
It is with sadness that we report that Ondina Maria Farias Veloso - known by her stage name Dina - passed away late yesterday evening in Lisbon. Dina will be best known to Eurofans for representing Portugal at the 1992 Eurovision Song Contest, held in Malmö, Sweden, with the song 'Amor d'água fresca' (Fresh Water Love) where she placed 17th with 26 points.
Born on June 18th 1956 in the Carregal do Sal municipality, Dina grew up with music and drama as huge influences on her life starring in a number of plays and studying the arts at college. It was at college where Dina realised that music was her ultimate passion and she begun to pursue a career in the fado music industry. At the age of 19 in 1975, Dina composed her first songs and joined a group called Quinteto Angola experiencing small success.
Her first encounter with the world of Eurovision came in 1980 where Dina competed in Portuguese national selection show Festival da Canção with 'Guardado em mim'. Despite successfully advancing to the final, Dina placed 8th out of the 9 finalists. Two years later, Dina returned to Festival da Canção competing in the 1982 contest with two entries! She ultimately placed 6th with 'Gosto do teu gosto' and 8th again with 'Em segredo'.
After a ten year break from the music festival, Dina returned for the third time in 1992 where she competed with 'Amor d'água fresca' and won Festival da Canção winning the honour of representing her country at the Eurovision Song Contest in Sweden. In the final, Dina performed eighth out of the twenty-three participating countries and ultimately placed 17th with 26 points.
Following her appearance at the song contest, Dina released four further albums and also composed a number of songs for TV and film. In 2009 she celebrated 30 years of her music career with an exclusive concert in Lisbon. She leaves a legacy of being one of the first women to bring pop music to the Portuguese music industry.
Dina passed away on the evening of Thursday 11th April 2019 at the age of 62 after a 13 year battle with pulmonary fibrosis.
On behalf of all at Eurovoxx we would like to send our best wishes to Dina's family and friends, whilst also thanking her for her music and life achievements.
