It has been a year since Goa lost one of her beloved performers. With over six decades of performances, Antonette Mendes is one of the most accomplished legends in the Konkani music scene. Having your work released on several recording formats is not something many artistes can claim. Shellac, vinyl EP, vinyl LP, audio cassette, CD, film, VCD, DVD and OTT, Antonette’s work is spread across analog and digital formats – both audio and video.

Maria Antonia D’Souza, remembered by her stage name Antonette, has cemented her place in Goa’s musical legacy. She started out at a young age as a tiatrist (Konkani stage actor) acting on stage at the Princess Theatre in Bombay and quickly went on to direct and write tiatrs too.

Tiatr, derived from the Portuguese word teatro (theatre in English) is a Goan cultural expression. The language of the Tiatr is Konkani, that includes dialogues and Kantaram (songs). For the uninitiated, Pramod Kale, in his paper TIATR: Expression of the live, popular culture (1999) states that “Tiatr is a unique performing arts genre. It has elements of drama, music, comedy and improvisation. In a typical Tiatr performance, there is a loose story line which runs through the show. It is punctuated by ‘sideshows’-irrelevant and improvisational material consisting of songs (solos, duets and choruses called cantar), dances, comic skits and monologues-all to the accompaniment of a very loud Goan steel band which sits between the audience and the performers”.

From Bombay to Goa to East Africa, she lit up stages with her tiatr performances. East African countries like Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania had a substantial number of Goans working in administrative roles. Before these countries gained their independence, Goan tiatrists toured the cities where the Goan diaspora had clubs and associations to host them.

Antonette also had roles in the second, third and fourth Konkani movies to be produced. As a supporting actress in Amchem Noxib (1963) where a 16-year-old Antonette is immortalized in many music sequences, to Nirmon (1966) where she sings an emotive rendition of the song ‘Claudia’, to Sukhachem Sopon (1967), a movie that’s sadly not available for viewing, her success in Konkani films also got her roles in a couple of Hindi films.

The 80s in Goa brought with it a shift from vinyl to audio cassettes. Goa’s Kantorist’s (singers), many based in Bombay, embraced this new recording format. Along with her husband Romeo Mendes, she released a series of cassettes and Amitabh Bachchan even made a speech in Konkani at the launch event. Throughout the decade, Antonette went on to contribute songs on numerous albums released on audio cassette.

One of her popular songs in the audio cassette era was Tik Tok Typist, composed by Anthony San with music by dynamic arranger, Mariano Rodrigues. This catchy retro tune is sure to take you back to the 80s.

I recently hung out with Brian d’Souza, the award-winning DJ and music producer who DJs under the alias Auntie Flo (an homage to his late Goan Auntie Florie), at the Sultry Mist Festival in Aldona, Goa. I played this song at the end of a workshop, and it caught his attention. In his words “I love this track! It’s the grooviest Konkani song I’ve heard, given a different dimension by the coincidental and perhaps prophetic reference to Tik Tok!”

There are some fantastic tracks on this cassette, and I will share more on it in my upcoming ‘Moldy Tapes from Goa‘ series where I highlight the people and music on these tapes. The name of the series is of course inspired by Brian Shimkovitz’s Awesome Tapes from Africa, and from the mold I have been cleaning off these tapes.

So, from the nostalgic ‘Claudia’ and the heartfelt ‘Piti Piti Mog’, to the then futuristic ‘Tik Tok Typist’, Antonette has left her mark on Goan music in her own powerful way.

With Antonette’s passing on April 7, 2024, a month before her 80th birthday, Goa lost its timeless Melody Queen.

Here is a selection of tracks, from different stages of her career, to check out.

1. Claudia – Lyrics by C. Alvares and music by Frank Fernand

2. Piti Piti Mog – Lyrics and music by Chris Perry

3. Tik Tok Typist – Lyrics by Anthony San and music by Mariano Rodrigues

4. Pixem – Lyrics by Joe Rose and music by Mariano Rodrigues