Pomegranate Lifetime Achievement Award for Preservation of Sephardic Culture
Biography
Fortuna, a critically acclaimed Brazilian Jewish singer-songwriter, has a musical background of over 30 years, primarily marked by her Middle Eastern roots (Judaic and Arabic) and efforts to trace the journeys of Sephardim from Spain and Portugal. As a World Music researcher, her music bridges across multiple religions, cultures, and languages.
Fortuna has recorded eight albums independently: La Prima Vez, Cantigas, Mediterrâneo, Mazal, Cælestia, Encontros, Novo Mundo, and Novos Mares. Mediterrâneo was the winner of the 10th Sharp Music Award for best foreign-language album, and the American label Putumayo, which specializes in World Music collections, has included five songs recorded by Fortuna in their collections: Women of Spirit (1998), Romantica (1998), A Jewish Odyssey (2000), Dreamland (2003), and Tango Around The World (2007).
Novos Mares (Selo SESC, 2016) traces the course of Eastern Jews who left Aleppo (Syria), and the Middle East in general, singing songs in Arabic, Hebrew, and French, before finally reaching Brazil, with the original song “Branca Dias,” a tribute to New Christians (Anusim) and Crypto-Judaism. In Mares da Memória, presented at the MIMO Festival (Amarante, Portugal, 2019), Fortuna celebrated musical diversity rooted in the Ladino songbook.
On December 12, 2024, she gave a unique performance at the Basilica of the São Bento Monastery in São Paulo, featuring the Benedictine Monks Choir, presenting a Jewish and Christian repertoire. She has also performed chazanut (liturgical music) for Kahal Tzur Israel, the first synagogue in the Americas, in Recife, Pernambuco.
Her radio program Todos os Cantos (From Every Corner)—first aired by Radio Eldorado FM, then by Radio UOL—ran for 12 years, unearthing musical gems from all over the globe. Cultura FM Radio would eventually broadcast the Fortuna-hosted show for over seven years.
As an actress, Fortuna played a role in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical “Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” directed by the award-winning Iacov Hilel. The show’s success awakened in the artist the desire to focus her attention on music for children, leading to a series of albums, productions, and other projects.
