NAY PORTTELA (Brazil)

Nay Porttela is a Brazilian singer and songwriter from Goiânia, a city in central Brazil near Brasília. She has released four albums that showcase her distinctive voice alongside piano, synthesizers, and Brazilian rhythms such as pagode, reggae maranhense, bossa nova, and arrocha. Over the course of her career, she has collaborated with artists from Brazil and abroad, including Nilze Carvalho, French artist REB, and Japanese singer Yuga. While she most often sings in Portuguese and occasionally in English, Porttela explores a wide range of cultural references in her songwriting. Her work frequently addresses contemporary themes such as emotional boundaries, digital life, and rest, and is closely connected to a visual aesthetic shaped by her background in fashion.

Featured Songs:

The Global Women track, "Bahia Com H" (Bahia with an ‘H’), is a popular Brazilian song written in the 1940s by Denis Brean. It celebrates the cultural and scenic richness of the state of Bahia. “I am the friend who happily returns to your open arms, Bahia / I am a poet and don’t want to stay away from your magic / Let me see / Your mansions, churches, your saints, hills / And mountains just like a postcard.”

"Samba da Benção" (Samba of Blessing) is a Brazilian bossa nova classic by Vinícius de Moraes and Baden Powell. Celebrating samba as a way of life, the Café International song reflects on love, longing, and the human condition. “It’s better to be joyful than to be sad / Joy is the best thing there is / It’s like a light in the heart / But to make a samba with beauty / You need a little bit of sadness.”

“Eu Vim da Bahia” (I Come from Bahia), featured on Putumayo's Jazz World, is a breezy bossa nova interpretation of the classic Gilberto Gil tribute to the Brazilian state. Despite hardships, the people of Bahia find joy in music, dance, and faith, creating a vibrant way of life that the singer longs to return to. “I came from Bahia to sing / I came from Bahia to tell / So many beautiful things there are / In Bahia, which is my place.”

“Cette fille-là” (That Girl) is a previously unreleased French-language bossa nova built around spare, expansive imagery and quiet motion. “She goes down the slope / Barefoot on the dry landscape / The wind strikes hollow / In the wide emptiness / She walks firmly / Climbs the hill slowly / Like a nail without a hammer / Echoing / That girl.”

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