The Algarve musician Dino d’Santiago received, this Wednesday, December 20th, the Medal of Cultural Merit, given by the Government. The ceremony took place, symbolically, at the Linhó Prison Establishment, where the artist has developed the project “From inside to outside”.
In a statement, the Ministry of Culture explains that it decided to give this award to Dino d'Santiago «in recognition of the contribution he has made to musical creation in the Portuguese language and to his projection in the world and for his role in promoting cultural dialogue between people who speak Portuguese».
Added to this is the commitment that the artist, born in Quarteira, «has put into defending equality and combating all types of discrimination».
The presentation of the Medal of Cultural Merit by the Minister of Culture Pedro Adão e Silva, in the presence of the Minister of Justice Catarina Sarmento e Castro, took place at the Linhó Prison Establishment, where Dino is part of the weekly “From within to Outside” initiative, coordinated by professor Filipe Gameiro Neves, making music a space of freedom within the prison.
«This project that Dino does, and many other things that Dino does, has this principle: using culture to promote an idea of virtue. Do good and create a community of belonging», says minister Pedro Adão e Silva.
«The way in which Dino has brought together the various cultural languages has helped to make our country more open and to project an image of a more plural and diverse society and, therefore, richer», he adds.
Singer, musician and composer Claudino Jesus Borges Pereira, better known as Dino d’Santiago, was born on December 13, 1982 in Quarteira.
Son of Cape Verdean parents, he grew up in a neighborhood of precarious housing – Bairro dos Pescadores –, moving to Porto at the age of 21 and settling, a decade later, in Lisbon. Still, he never lost his connection to Quarteira, where he returns several times and where he has carried out several projects.
Whenever possible, he has also spent time on Santiago Island, where his parents are from.
His connection to music began as a child, when, following his parents' example, he joined the church choir. Later, as a teenager, he began to perform live in shows performed by rappers from the Algarve, his friends, making his debut as a composer and creator of his own songs.
On a national level, Dino became known in 2003, almost fortuitously: when he accompanied a friend to a casting for the television program “Operação Triunfo” (RTP), he was heard singing by one of the organization's members, who urged him to to take part in the competition. He then passes the jury selection and performs a song by the Portuguese hip-hop band “Black Company”, as well as songs of his own composition.
From then on, he developed a series of projects where the universes of soul, hip-hop and R&B merge. In a collective name, “Dino & The SoulMotion” deserves to be highlighted, alongside Sam The Kid, Tito Paris, Valete, Pacman, Virgul and others, as well as the band “Nu Soul Family”, which is once again part of Virgul’s company. .
Her first solo album is “Eva”, from 2013, and since then she has revealed an ever-growing interest in a creative afro-pop mix that combines hip-hop and soul with the Cape Verdean rhythms of batuku and funaná.
Songs such as “Nova Lisboa”, “Esquinas”, “Kriolu”, “Como Seria” or “Nôs Funaná” are some of his hits.
Throughout his career Dino d’Santiago has received numerous awards and distinctions. In 2021, he was awarded the Loulé Chamber Medal of Merit.
He was awarded several times at the Cape Verde Music Awards, for the albums “Eva” and “Mundu Nôbu”. He is, to this day, the artist who has received the most awards at the Play – Portuguese Music Awards. In 2010, the Nu Soul Family project won the MTV Europe Music Award for Best Portuguese Artist, an award for which Dino himself would later be nominated, individually, in 2020.
In 2022, he received the Best Performer Award at the Golden Globes.
Dino D’Santiago has also given much of his prominence to social projects. He is one of the founders of “Sou Quarteira”, a cultural revitalization initiative in this Algarve city that includes a multicultural festival.
Since 2021, he has been mentor and artistic director of Lisboa Criola, a project that emphasizes the cultural diversity of the country's capital.
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