I came across this interview with the ESC singer of Portugal back in 2003 so I decided to post it as it seems interesting:

Question: In the FDC (Festival da Cancao) in 1992 you sang the song ''O Meu Amor Inventado Em Mim'' and you finished second. Was this song your launch into the music?

Rita Guerra: Well... It was my first time in the Festival and its true that I didn't pass unnoticed even because the song was very beautiful. Maybe it was the moment of biggest exposure because back then everyone watched FDC, at least much more than now, so, I believe that in that night many people got to know who I was despite the fact I already had some stuff before that.

Q: You came back in 2003 and sang three songs '' Prazer no Peacado'', ''Estes Dias Sem Fim'', and ''Deixa-me Sonhar''. And you won with this last one with 75% of the votes. Was it the right choice?

R: Of course! I'm glad they voted on that one because it was really the song I liked the most. It was a really smashing voting result, which shows that the public has much better taste than what it was expected. And out there (in Eurovision) the song was very appreciated because everyone loved the song.

Q: ''Meu Amor Inventado Em Mim'', ''Estes Dias Sem Fim'' and ''Prazer No Pecado'' were never launched commercially. Could they be included in a new album?

R: ''Meu Amor Inventado Em Mim'' no. Is to much Festive to what I've been doing and doesn't fit my song style now. ''Prazer no Pecado'' is a very good song and at the time I told Ménito Ramos (composer) that I wanted to stay with it to record it and he actually gave it to me and didn't record it. Eventually I will record it.

Q: When you arrived to Riga, how was the ''environment'' that you lived until the night of the 24th May?

R: It was fabulous. We socialised a lot in group, at the hotel, at the rehearsals, everyone were amazing and there was nothing missing. I remember only the bad attitude of the Spanish singer Beth, and the sympathy of the German singer Lou. As for t.A.T.u. they didn't even gave me an opportunity of getting an opinion about them but I got that it was a ''machine'' that was supposed to work like that but at the end it didn't work how they wanted.

Q: You decided to sing partially in English. Why that choice? Did you consider to sing totally in English?

R: No! Sing it fully English was out of question. I defend that in the Eurovision every country should sing in their mother language. But that isn't respected anymore or it isn't obligated since many years, and, we and only few more countries sang in our own language, so we thought we would stay in disadvantage to the other songs that would be fully English. It is true indeed that, singing in English makes other people able to understand what the song wants to transmit. And that's why we decided to sing it partly English.

Q: What's the memory you save from those 3 minutes in stage? What do you feel when you watch your performance now?

R: Watching the song again I feel longing. I would like to be there again. That is a fantastic production...It's another dimension... It's like being it the space. The memory of those 3 minutes are the nervous, because it was a mix of pleasure always with the ''bug'' of the stress behind it, because it is a big responsibility to go in a stage with those dimensions. I cried. My mum had died few time before and I thought how much she would have liked to see me that night. After the performance I got to know that my brother had died. Everyone one knew that he had died but they didn't tell me , otherwise I would't have performed and probably they would have shown the rehearsal video instead.

Q: If you could come back to that night, would you do all the same way or would you change something?

R: I would be more calm or, at least, try to be. Nowadays I'm a much more calm and more safe than what I was back then because in 2003 I only used to sing in Casino do Estoril every day. It was the same thing every night. Now I do live concerts, sing in many different ways, the musics that I want, change the order of them, sometimes I play piano sometimes I don't depends on how I feel. There is an vocal exercise, of being in stage and get to contact with this crowd that is totally different from the Casino cause there they are capable of talking during the full show and not even look to the stage.

Q: Even if the final position wasn't what it was expected, the song ''Deixa-me Sonhar'' still is part of your concerts, it was included on the album ''Rita'' and gave the name to the tour in 2007. This song was very important in your career?

R: Very important! It was the point of return of my discography career because from that the idea of recording the album ''Rita'' came. I was with the idea of recording an album in tribute to Elton John but as I had launched an album already in English (Independence Days, 1995) that didn't get the success expected due to the lack of advertising, Paulo Martins, that is an exceptional composer, convinced me recording an album in Portuguese and that way the idea of recording the album was born.

Q: In 2003 you asked us to Let You Dream (translation of the 2003 song title). Could it be that the dream of coming back to Eurovision become reality?

R: Yes! If I was asked again I would go to Eurovision. But I wouldn't go back to FDC because I've been seeing many unfair victories and on terms of composers it's very weak.