Jose Afonso, Zeca Afonso or just Zeca (Aveiro, 1929 — Setubal, 1987), was a Portuguese composer and singer-songwriter who wrote and sang against the dictatorship of Salazar. He composed the song Grândola, morena, which was a theme song for the beginning of the Carnation Revolution on 25 April 1974. As a child and young man he lived and studied in Angola and Mozambique. In 1940 he went to Coimbra, where he began to sing. He was a leading performer of Coimbra’s traditional lyrical fado.
In 1958 he recorded his first album, Balades de Coimbra. He taught French and History. When he returned to Portugal, he worked as a teacher in Setubal, where he played an active part in campaigns against the dictatorship and he was expelled from teaching. Between 1967 and 1970, Zeca adopted a more radical position in his struggle against the regime and became a symbol of democratic resistance. He was arrested several times by the PIDE.
In 1971 he released Cantigas do Maio, which includes Grândola, morena. Zeca gave his last performances in Lisbon and Porto, when he was already suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a rare neurodegenerative disease (which the famous scientist Stephen Hawking also suffered).
The Portuguese wanted to award him the Ordem da Liberdade, which Zeca refused, as he did not want any decorations.
He has been given the LiberPress Memorial Award because he was a great singer and a tireless fighter for freedom and democracy, a defender of human rights and those who are most disadvantaged.