Marta Miranda's desire to dedicate herself to a solo album was born when she closed Tasca Beat, a tavern she had in the Alfama district of Lisbon, and which is also the name of the debut album by O'queStrada, released in 2009, she said in an interview with Lusa.

"Uma mulher na cidade" (A woman in the city), which was released last year by the German publisher Jaro Medien, is "an album of vagrancy", made up of fados and songs "found on the streets of Lisbon".

The title refers to the title of an album by Carlos do Carmo, "Um homem na cidade" (A man in the city), released in 1977.

"The main reason [for the album's title] is to think about women in the city, in public spaces, 40 years after 'Um homem na cidade'. What is a woman like in the city 40 years later", she explained.

MirAnda, as "a woman who goes out at night and sometimes dines alone", sees few women doing the same. "And I would like to see more, and to see women more at ease in the streets, because often it is not that safe. The day when a woman can walk freely in the streets, at any time of day or night, is a good sign for Democracy", she said.

"Uma mulher da cidade" has Lisbon as its reference city, but it is "also about women in cities around the world".

Among the ten songs that make up the album, there are originals and versions of fado, which MirAnda sang at Tasca Beat, such as "Cacilheiro", "Rosinha dos limões" and "Alfama", and "I would have liked to set to music for a long time".

In addition to Portuguese, "Uma mulher na cidade" also features Creole and French.

"In O'queStrada we already had some songs in Creole, it was the first language I learned to play on the viola, thanks to the Cape Verdean community in Lisbon", recalled MirAnda, for whom Creole "is a language that should be paid more attention to, and the new generations are finally doing so, because it has Portuguese roots and is an interesting language for Portuguese people to learn".

French, on the other hand, "comes from this path that Portugal also took, which was very Francophone" and which MirAnda has been following "since always". "It is a second language for me", she said.

The song she sings in French, "Petit Pays II", has music by her and lyrics by the musician Jean Marc Pablo, the double bass player of O'queStrada.

"It is a love letter to Portugal, from him as a Frenchman. A country that changed his life and his way of being", she shared.

"Uma mulher na cidade" features "very valuable contributions" from other musicians "who have been living in Lisbon for a long time and are part of the city", such as Mbye Ebrima, from Gambia, who participates in the version of the fado "Alfama", where the kora takes the place of the Portuguese guitar, or Kimi Djabaté, from Guinea-Bissau, with his balafon.

Without a publisher or distribution in Portugal, "Uma mulher na cidade" can be heard on streaming platforms.

MirAnda still tried to find a Portuguese publisher, but eventually gave up.

During the years when she was the voice of O'queStrada, Marta Miranda did "many tours abroad", and would "very much like to return to Portugal with this album and have more shows here".

For now, she has today's show at B.Leza, in which MirAnda will be accompanied by Simone Carugatti, on guitar and ukulele, and Ganso, on programming. In addition, there will be guests, such as Mbye Ebrima, on the kora, Joana D'Água, on the gourd, and Gil Dionísio, on the violin.

"It will be a meeting between lovers of Lisbon", said the singer.

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