Sanio, a singing icon for the Global Goan

Working in Dubai, Sanio gathered a team of dedicated youngster musicians and together they began their tryst with Gõykarponn; celebrating Konkani in vocal melodies and igniting the passion of Goans settled in Dubai

Michael Jude Gracias | SEPTEMBER 16, 2022, 07:57 PM IST
Sanio, a singing icon for the Global Goan

“Music is the divine way to tell beautiful, poetic things to the heart." - Pablo Casals  

Storytelling is a great art. An artiste uses a varied means to pour out his heart that is filled with art; be it on paper, a painting canvas, or a film, a theatre piece, a poetry or a song. 

From a young age, storytelling was his passion. His mother's arms were his cradle of storytelling which he honed as a proud student of Loyola High School Margao and then in the Cuncolim Higher Secondary School Science laboratories. Seeing his flare for music and singing that was noticed at a young age by the Jesuits at Loyola School and appreciated by his teachers, his mother was convinced that the young lad was born to soar in the skies and at the age of 8 sought the tutelage of Dominic Dourado, a retired Bollywood violinist from their village of Seraulim who augmented the young lad's canvas of art, teaching him the basics of music, armed with solfeggio, music theory, voice training and above all strumming the guitar to the different rhythms they chose to sing.

The youngster grew in age and is today seen as an ambassador of Konkani music to the Global Goenkar spread all over the world. Sanio is the singing sensation that brings together people of all ages; youth, in particular, taking Konkani music to newer heights.

Seraulim was blessed with youngsters taking up music and tiatrs due to the encouragement and tireless efforts of a school teacher and their church choirmaster, a strict disciplinarian and perfectionist; Sir Josefato Vales, a musician of great temperance and talent who is presently encouraging youngsters in Australia to sing in Konkani. Sanio grew under his tutelage and sang in the church choirs and festive events held at the church campus under the watchful eyes of Sir Josefato. 

Sanio by now was hit with the music bug and as Bob Marley says, "One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain," held good for Sanio too. At the age of 10, Sanio wrote his first tiatr ‘Ami Patki’ and then after two years ‘Amchea Mogak Lagon’. This writer was invited by Sir Josefato to conduct small tiatr workshop sessions for these young actors in the early nineties and then this second tiatr of Sanio was presented with these workshop attendees under the banner of United Lions Club of Seraulim at the Seraulim church campus.   

Staging two tiatrs by the age of twelve was definitely a matter of great accolade. His parents and siblings supported him in all that he craved to do, pouring out the required finance and above all giving him the push to go ahead and bloom in the art that was so dear to his heart. Sanio did not dishearten them in studies too, as he kept on achieving good success. His academic pursuits have earned him today the qualification as a Flight Dispatcher from the USA Federal Aviation Authority (FAA). He also holds a Master’s Degree in Aviation Business Management from the Edith Coven University of Australia and is currently working as a Standards Quality Procedures Controller for Emirates Airlines in Dubai.

Sanio believes in staying committed and rooted to his humble beginnings, to serve others without expectations, to serve his community and enjoy the gift of life received in God's benevolence and in thanksgiving for this gift, to lend a hand and contribute to make this world God's paradise on earth.

Working in Dubai, Sanio gathered a team of dedicated youngster musicians and together they began their tryst with Gõykarponn; celebrating Konkani in vocal melodies and igniting the passion of Goans settled in Dubai. With the blessings received from his talented team of youngsters which has the likes of Nerissa Cardozo, a great achiever and singer of repute who manages all the logistics and is the team admin, Sanio ventured to pursue his singing talents in a professional outlook.  

Besides singing in Goa and India at various Konkani events, Sanio has performed in the UK, Houston, Miami and California in the US, Melbourne in Australia, Bahrain and Kuwait alongside the best Konkani singers, Lorna Cordeiro, Sonia Shirsat, Ester Noronha and others, besides having a number of shows lined up for performance in the days to come.

Seeing the passion of this young group, Abdul Mutallib, a big-hearted Goan, having a recording studio in the UAE and his home town Loutolim, guided them to record their musical composition and volunteered to produce their songs. ‘Tin Kallzam’ (July 2018), was the first song released which soon became a craze among the music-loving Goans. ‘Pordexi Goenkar’ (September 2018), ‘Bailek Respet’ (March 2019), ‘Kallzak Pekhovnni’ (November 2021), 'Tin Bhangarachim Utram' (Feb 2021), 'Konkani Maim Bhas' (November 2016) and 'Goa Mannik Udentichem' (May 2017) were the other original compositions added in their repertoire of rich music.

Sanio is the co-composer and singer of the song Vell Kakuticho which was produced by a diocesan centre during the Covid-19 pandemic. Sanio has also produced cover songs like the immortal ‘Xezari’ and Sao Joao produced by MoonByte Studio and ‘Pavsachea Tempar’ produced by Jadser Audio/Neves Oliviera. Sanio performs under his banner ‘sANIO Fernandes Creations’. 

The ‘s’ in Sanio is intended small only to remind him and his entire troupe that singing is a free gift of God and that they should remain humble and gentle as they walk their paths of success and fame. When talent meets hard work and the right temperament, the result is success and that is what Sanio is today. Given these thoughts harboured close in their hearts one thing is sure, to Sanio and his team, it’s the distant sky that sets the limit to win the hearts of the Global Goenkar!

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