Alma Lusa were a short-lived Portuguese

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

 musical group, set up specifically to participate in Portugal's Eurovision Song Contest

Eurovision Song Contest

The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...

 selection (Festival da Canção) in 1998. The group consisted of vocalist Inês Santos and musicians José Cid

José Cid

José Cid is a Portuguese singer and composer. Outside of his home country, Cid is best known for performing "Um grande, grande amor" at the Eurovision Song Contest 1980 and for the progressive rock album 10,000 Anos Depois Entre Venus E Marte.Over his longlasting career, Cid has been awarded...

, Carlos Jesus, Henrique Lopes, Carlos Ferreirinha and Pedro Soares.

On 7 March 1998, Alma Lusa took part in the Eurovision selection with Cid-penned "Se eu te pudesse abraçar

Se Eu Te Pudesse Abraçar

"Se eu te pudesse abraçar" was the Portuguese entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998, performed in Portuguese by Alma Lusa....

" ("If I Could Embrace You"), which was chosen from the eight entries by a panel of five "experts" as that year's Portuguese entry. The song, an ethnic composition featuring traditional Portuguese musical instruments, went forward to the 43rd Eurovision Song Contest

Eurovision Song Contest 1998

The Eurovision Song Contest 1998 was the 43rd Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 9 May 1998 at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, United Kingdom. The presenters were Terry Wogan and Ulrika Jonsson...

, held on 9 May in Birmingham

Birmingham

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

, where it finished in joint 12th place (with Estonia

Estonia

Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

) of the 25 entries.

Alma Lusa's Eurovision appearance was always intended to be a one-off, and they disbanded after the contest.

External links

• Festival da Canção 1998 (Portuguese - includes audio)