In 2022, at a time still marked by the solitude left by the pandemic and the weakening of social ties, Vânia Couto extended a simple invitation: to create a space where women could come together and sing. The intention was not to launch an ambitious project, but to restore the possibility of gathering, sharing, and simply being present. There was a need to return to community. From that need, the Coro das Mulheres da Fábrica was born.
At the first call, what Vânia described as a real “crowd” showed up: dozens of women, showing that this need was widely shared. They came from different age groups, backgrounds, and nationalities. Some had never sung in public; others had musical training; others were simply looking for a place to be, without hurry or judgment. Music became the meeting point, but what began to take shape went beyond the idea of a traditional choir.
The name emerged naturally from the place where they rehearse — a former shirt factory in downtown Coimbra, the historic heart of the city and a longstanding meeting point for the region. Yet it quickly gained symbolic meaning. The word “factory” evokes women workers, invisible labor, and struggles for rights and recognition. By calling themselves “workers of the voice”, they affirm that the voice, too, is something that can be worked on and strengthened. It is not only the singing voice that is trained, but also the speaking voice: learning to take up space, to gain presence, and to exist collectively.
From the outset, the goal was to create an exclusively female space: a multigenerational and multicultural environment where everyone belongs, regardless of musical background. Learning is horizontal, inspired by traditional polyphonic practices in which songs were passed on by listening and repeating. The absence of sheet music is a conscious choice. Singing shifts from performance to shared experience.
In a time that demands constant achievement and carefully curated lives, the choir embraces imperfection. Perfection, they argue, is a myth that dehumanizes. Singing requires vulnerability, and stepping forward is an act of courage. Many women arrived carrying fear, having been told they could not sing or that they should remain silent. In finding a space where mistakes are not mocked but welcomed as part of the process, they began to grow in confidence. Singing together turns individual insecurity into collective strength.
Today, the choir includes more than a hundred women, singing more confidently, more loudly, and without fear. Singing together, they say, is transformative. What matters is not technical perfection, but the unity of voices. In that shared moment, a sense of belonging and recognition emerges — a strength that surpasses each individual voice.
The repertoire weaves together traditional Portuguese music with popular songs from other parts of the world. Preserving heritage means remembering where one comes from, but not treating it as something fixed in time. Songs remain alive because they continue to be sung today.
The women themselves describe what happens there in three words: celebration, humanization, and healing. It is a celebration of gathering and of existence itself. It is a way of reclaiming humanity in a fast-paced world that often forgets we are simply people. And it is also a process of healing from loneliness, from fear, from the silences that lingered.
The Coro das Mulheres da Fábrica defines itself not only by what it sings, but by the space it creates. A space where the voice is no longer restrained, but takes its place. Where singing is not about displaying talent, but about existing together.
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