With a busy schedule and sold out shows, the singer is having her best moment and is already thinking about the successor to her DVD, ‘Ao Vivo em Fortaleza’
Mari Fernandez, 21, is one of the most listened to singers of the moment. His presence in Spotify’s Top 50 Brazil and his respective 6.9 million monthly listeners on the platform don’t lie. in conversation with the Landit turns out to be a powerhouse, not for the friendliness and simplicity it exudes through video calls, but for its often obscured history and its determination to conquer more spaces.
Born and raised in a religious cradle, a mixed family of evangelicals and Christians of other classes, it was in the churches of Alto Santo (CE) that she began to sing, between the ages of 7 and 8, it was there that she understood what she wanted for life . At the age of 18, she moves to Fortaleza to follow her dream of being an artist. In town, working as a receptionist, she spent the month with what she calls “rent money”.
Not to mention I was starving and starving, Mari Fernandez he reports that he had a budget of between R $ 100 and R $ 150 to spend the entire month on meals. “Do you think what is a fair with this value? I didn’t eat meat, I bought everything canned and I lived on noodles ”.
In mid-2020, Mari lost her grandmother, a person who supported her dreams. Losing her destabilized her and caused her anxiety attacks, but it also gave her an experience that, in her opinion, changed her life. She freed from work, returning home, she came across an ice cream man who claimed to have a divine message: “You have a gift, but it will be yours only if you use it for God.”
“Hearing it, I burst into tears. I went home, sang praises and remembered my beginnings. Two months later, they called me on the project Mari FernandezI recorded my cd, it went viral on TikTok and since then God has blessed me ”, she says, visibly moved, who says she always listens and sings praises, both on the plane, on the bus and in moments of leisure.
Check out the interview in full:
Your shows are selling out all over the country, what’s it like to be successful at such a young age?
“I’m 21 years old, I’m learning to deal with everything, but it was really nice. I’ve always dreamed of it since I was young, when I was 7 or 8. I dreamed of being a singer and songwriter and today to be able to live on that is a great a gift that God has given me ”.
You said you are learning to deal, to explain better.
“The biggest challenge was reconciling my personal life with my professional life. […] time to see friends, to see family, anyway. I enjoyed it less and worked more, but at the same time I’m having the best moment of my career, enjoying it as much as possible. I’m doing more shows, resting less, but for the sake of my career, which is my dream. ”
At your age, people take college entrance exams, internships. You miss? Are you planning to do this in the future?
“When I finished high school I took Enem and took some courses, but it was never my will. I recommend studying to everyone, but that’s not what I followed. Today I study my work, I take a singing course , I am accompanied by a speech therapist, I study composition, I am always there looking for new ideas, I look for the meaning of words, looking for how to insert more and more words in their places to do what I like, what I love “.
So it never stopped, right?
“Being 21 and living this moment I am now, I gave it up a lot. More important than studying is to work with what you love, I can’t see myself doing anything else. I also have another great dream: besides being a singer, I want to do the entrepreneur, but for now the only thing I have been able to invest in is investing in the real estate sector “.
What course did you pass at Enem?
“Incredibly, I got over psychology. When I finished high school, I thought, ‘I’m not going to college now, I’m going to spend two years doing music, if it doesn’t work out, I’m going to go to college.’ I took the course. But my grade was enough to pass in psychology and other courses that I don’t remember now. “
You come from TikTok, what do you think about the people who belittle your success?
“I realize that we have lived in an age where people should support the dreams of others more. Wow, I am from Ceará and I am proud when I see someone else succeed. I am Brazilian, I will not go to support Spain at the World Cup. , I’m going to Brazil, I really want Neymar to be the big star and for us to take the title. I see people discourage people, people say, ‘Oh, he’s not going to work.’ instead of encouraging. It’s bad that exists in people I still could not understand. At the same time, I always took things on the positive side. I always thought: ‘God does not put the dream in the background. person if he is not able to conquer’ “.
“Yes, you will have to go through a lot of things, I have been through situations, you know? From playing in a corner bar and a spit in the street. I remember the boy putting the plastic tables on the street and I would make him sing while he was roasting the skewers. . The intention was to attract the attention of the crowd so that they would sit down, consume the music and the skewer, people would not go. I thought of calling my uncle to sit there and be present. it motivated us not to give up. I thought: “Everything in God’s time. If it hasn’t happened yet it’s because I’m not ready.” Today it seems fantastic to be Mari Fernandez, but she also has difficulties. ”
You mentioned the lack of encouragement from people, do you still have friendships with people who have given up on you?
“I’m not a person to hold a grudge, I’ve been through situations that I should have kept, but I’m not like that. But the real thing is: no one is forced to believe in your dreams. You should trust and fight for your dreams. This grudge, though , I was born and raised in Alto Santo, Ceará, just yesterday I was there, at my mother’s house. My friends are the same as before. Not that I am not open to new friends. However, when I go down to my city, people that I feel I find are the people who looked for me when I was alone Mariana. I remember that first of all I went down and few people looked for me. Today, when I go, I let them know for this handful of friends, who have always looked at me for who I am , not for the moment or for what is happening “.
And as for friends, has your career taken you away from your older friends?
“Keep away only those who are not true. Friends who know your essence can understand that you have not changed, that it is a matter of work. In the morning my uncle calls me, but I cannot answer. I explained to him that today I am very If my family understands, why don’t my friends understand, right? My friends of the High Saint, there are five in all that I can count on my fingers, we sit down and talk and the connection is the same, it is snapshot “.
You said “Mariana also has difficulties”, besides in your speeches you talk a lot about God. Is everything connected?
“Yes, I grew up in a religious cradle. My family is a mixture of evangelicals and Christians of other backgrounds, they have always had very strong principles with God. Thank God they taught me. When I was 7 or 8 I started to singing in church and I have a very beautiful story with God. “
“When I was 18, when I came to Fortaleza to pursue my dream, I spent two years here in difficult conditions. I worked at a university reception until 3pm and then dialed until 6pm. In my mind, it was easier. win in music as a songwriter than as a singer. After that, I played in some bars and on the spit, which was not regular. ”
“I slept little, I worked a lot, but I was always there. It was something that I lived with God … which I meant as a message not to stop me. At the time my grandmother had just died, I created a very big anxiety crisis, she was the person who supported me the most, who I loved. When she left, I kept thinking: and now, what will become of me? “.
“I worked every day and didn’t see the evolution of my work. There came a time when I worked and I only had the means to pay the rent. Not to mention that I had nothing, I had R $ 100 to R $ 150 to organize a fair, it’s nothing. I ate a lot of noodles, I ate tinned meat, sausage, sardines and rice. My fair of the month was that and it didn’t last. At the time, I found myself doing everything this and going through all these difficulties, it was a phase in which my psychic was very shaken. Thank God, it made me strong in this situation. I have stories with God if I tell people who say they do not believe. “
What are these stories?
“I was working at that same stage and nothing happened. I questioned God why nothing happened. I remember there was a moment when I went to the college reception. I woke up feeling sick, if they said ‘good morning’ ‘I was crying. Everyone there noticed that I was not well. Starting from there, around 12:30, when I went to the bus stop, I looked both ways and there was nothing. either way, there was a guy with an ice cream cart in front of me. He wasn’t there before. “
“He said, ‘I would have dared later, but God said I had to dare now.’ saying things about me that only those who knew me could say. He said I sing, he talked about my tattoo, he surprised me, everything he said touched me. Then he said, ‘God sent you a message.’ He told me that God had given me a gift and that I could only use this gift if I used it for God. When I received it at home, I prayed. I felt touched by God, then I wanted to take the guitar and sing a praise. It had been a while since I sang praises. I started singing, that’s when I remembered I started in church. ”
“So, like, I sing … but before I sing on stage, I always praise God. Sometimes I don’t go to church, but I always praise at home, in the car, on the plane. From that day, I realized that while I wasn’t using the my gift for God, my gift would never have been mine, it would have been his and only when he had allowed things would have gone well.Two months later my life changed, I received the proposal to join this project, the Mari project Fernandez, and that’s where it all started. I recorded my first CD and one song has already gone viral and since then God has been blessed. “
And what about relationships? Are you open for romance? How do you manage the labels?
“I haven’t had time for that, I’ve traveled a lot and I’m only staying in town for the time of the show or event. Also, lately I’m not even trying to date anyone or kiss on the mouth to be honest. Internet folks love to tag, I have no relationship today, but all my relationships were with men, I had boyfriends, there was even one that went viral on TikTok [Lucas]”.
What are your next steps and your ambitions?
“I don’t like to call it ambition, I call it dream. At the moment I have a DVD, I think I am launching a new project, I want to take advantage of the moment, while the crowd is consuming a lot, I am already listening and recording new songs. I dream, something I want it really is singing in a crowded football stadium. Today I have a label, ‘Mari Sem Fim’, my event that goes on until the morning and I intend to take it to the stadium, I also have personal dreams, like buying a house and cars , I already have one, but I want more “.
Source: Terra
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
