ZAP // António Cotrim / Lusa
Former announcer Cândido Mota died this Sunday, aged 82
A pioneer in Portugal in the open-air format, he was the historic voice of radio that accompanied the insomnia of the Portuguese in the 1980s. He reinvented himself on television alongside Herman José, becoming one of the most beloved couples in Portuguese entertainment. He died at dawn, as he had to.
Radio announcer and television presenter Candido Mota He died this evening, aged 82, at Santa Maria Hospital, in Lisbon, where he had been admitted since April 13th. According to the daughter, Teresa MotaTSF journalist, the radio presenter left “without suffering, surrounded by family and close friends”.
Born on September 28, 1943, in Espinho, Cândido Soares Pinto da Mota grew up in a universe of music and words: he was son of fado singer Maria Albertinato whom he would later attribute the impulse for his vocation.
A His father’s early death marked his childhoodand, as he would recognize decades later, he shaped the sensitivity he would bring to the microphone.
At the age of 17 he entered the Portuguese Club Radiobeginning a career that would make him one of the most recognizable voices on Portuguese radio, thanks to deep and full-bodied timbre which became his brand. It was, however, on Rádio Comercial that achieved reference statuswith programs such as Em Órbita, Fonografias and Dançatlântico.
The high point came in 1979, with The Night Passenger. Broadcast from midnight, the program open the microphone to listenerswho could call the studio and talk about whatever they wanted, live.
Candido Mota I chose to listen more than talkgiving up their space to those on the other side who were looking for company in times of insomnia. The format, unprecedented in Portugal, became a national radio milestone and would be replicated by many.
Two years later, the emotional exhaustion of welcoming night after night the confessions of listeners dictated the end of the broadcastsomething that he himself admitted was the moment hardest part of your career.
In the 1990s, reinvented himself on television alongside Herman José. His unmistakable voice began to resonate like contest voice-over such as A Roda da Sorte and Com a Verdade M’Enganas, on RTP, later following the comedian in various formats and humor notes on SIC. The Cândido-Herman duo became one of the most beloved couples of Portuguese entertainment.
A man of assumed convictions, he was Communist Party member Portuguese and regular presence as announcer and presenter on the April 25th Stage of the Avante! Festival.
In recent years, progressively withdrew from public life. Since January 2026, lived in the Artist’s Housein Lisbon, before being transferred to Santa Maria Hospital. In April, the premature and false disclosure of his death It generated indignation among friends and colleagues, a testament to the esteem in which the country held him.
Candido Mota leaves two daughtersTeresa and Maria John. And above all, he leaves the memory of a voice that, when the rest of the country slept, I stayed awake listening who needed to be heard.
Died at dawnas it had to be, around the time we were used to keeping each other company. Good luck, night passenger, on your last trip.
