Marques Mendes’ presidential candidacy confirmed this Thursday that musician Dino D’Santiago will be the representative of Culture, Diversity and Inclusion for the current State Councilor and former leader of the PSD, who is one of the best positioned in voting intentions to succeed Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa as Head of State.
In the statement released this morning, the Marques Mendes’ candidacy recalls that the singer and composer, born 42 years ago in Quarteira (Loulé), and son of Cape Verdean immigrants, received the Cultural Merit medal from the Ministry of Culture in 2023. And that this distinction “meant recognition of the contribution to musical creation in the Portuguese language and its projection in the world”, as well as its “role in promoting cultural dialogue between Portuguese-speaking peoples” and “commitment to defending equality and combating all types of discrimination”.
Dino D’Santiago, who became best known for his collaboration with the North American Madonna, when the artist known as the “queen of pop” lived in Portugal, had already announced, on his social networks, that he had accepted Marques Mendes’ invitation.
On social mediaAndré Ventura reacted to the confirmation of his rival’s choice of president in the January 18, 2026 elections, writing that Marques Mendes “was already the system’s candidate” and became the “useless candidate for the Nation”. This is because, alluding to statements made by Dino D’Santiago, he argued that the musician “wants to change the lyrics of the National Anthem and says that Portugal is racist”. In 2023, in a conference dedicated to 50 years of the weekly ExpressoDino D’Santago suggested the creation of a new anthem, “less warmongering”.
Chega has also publicly criticized public contracts signed by entities such as the Lisbon City Council, with the company Batuku Roots and the Mundu Nôbu association, created by Dino D’Santiago. In the opposite direction, the Loulé council of the PSD criticized the Algarve municipality, then led by the socialist Vítor Aleixo, for hiring the musician for a show in 2021, when he was part of the Honor Committee for his re-candidacy.