About António Variações

António Joaquim Rodrigues Ribeiro, (December 3, 1944 - June 13, 1984) was a Portuguese singer and songwriter. Born in Fiscal, near Braga, he was the fifth son (out of 10) of Deolinda de Jesus and Jaime Ribeiro. As a child, his love for music often took him away from his chores and towards the local folklore celebrations. At 12 years old he goes to Lisbon to work at an office. Serves the army in Angola, comes back safe and sound and leaves almost immediately to London where he works cleaning dishes in a school. He comes back to Portugal in 1976, and goes back out to Amsterdam to work as a hairdresser for a year. Back in Lisbon, he started a music group called "António e Variações", in which he stood out because of his clothing and accessories. In 1978 he meets with music publishers "Valentim de Carvalho" and signs a contract. Four years later, he records his first album. In February 1981 he appears on TV, in a program called "Passeio dos Alegres" hosted by Júlio Isidro. Júlio then invites him to a radio program called "Febre de Sábado da Manhã" on Rádio Comercial. In July 1982 he released his first single under the name "António Variações": a double A-side called "Povo Que Lavas No Rio", made immortal by Amália Rodrigues and "Estou Além", an original of his. One year later, he released his first LP - "Anjo Da Guarda" - which made him known throughout all of Portugal. After inumerous concerts he goes back to studio between the 6th and 25th February 1984 to record his second and last LP: "Dar E Receber". In April he is last seen in public on the TV show "A Festa Continua", hosted by Júlio Isidro. When "Dar e Receber" is edited. At this time, the health of the artist was severely debilitated and rumours about his condition being brought on by AIDS started to circulate, which, given the prejudice towards the disease at the time, made him a target of some discrimination, plus, António was homossexual. Prior to his death, Variações had received clinical test results performed in the United States confirming that he was indeed HIV positive. Only his family and closest friends, visited him during his stay at the hospital. In June the press released news that his health state had deteriorated considerably, where later he died on the day of St. António.