family went from Mozambique to East Timor, also a Portuguese overseas territory at that time, where his father continued his job as a judge. Mariazinha went with them while his brother João returned to Portugal. After the occupation of Timor by the Japanese, Afonso received no news from his parents for three years, until the end of World War II in 1945. When he was in his 5th year of lyceum studies, Afonso started singing seranades as a bicho (meaning a non-human ugly or scary creature), a rank used in the University of Coimbra praxe for lyceum students. He became known as the "bicho-cantor" (singing creature). From 1946 to 1948 he worked to finish his lyceum studies, after failing two years. He met Maria Amália de Oliveira, whom he married secretly due to his parents' opposition. He traveled with some of the most important university musical groups, such as Orfeon Académico de Coimbra, and played football for Associação Académica de Coimbra. In 1949 he started studying History and Philosophy at Coimbra University. With the Orfeon Académico de Coimbra, he travelled to Angola and Mozambique. In January 1953, his first son José Manuel was born. Later that year, his first recordings were released. These were two 78-rpm records of Coimbra fado songs, of which no copies exist today. Between 1953 and 1955, he served compulsory military service. He was mobilized to Macau, a Portuguese territory at the time, but due to health problems he was discharged. He was afterwards stationed in Coimbra until completing military service. His daughter Helena was born in 1954. During this time he experienced many economic difficulties and eventually divorced his wife. 1956–1968: Work as a teacher, first albums and early political action In 1956 Afonso released his first EP, Fados de Coimbra. After his military service, he started working as a teacher. From January to September 1957 he worked at a private school in Mangualde and afterwards worked at the Industrial and Commercial School of Lagos between October 1957 and July 1959. Due to his financial problems, he sent his children to the Portuguese overseas territory of Mozambique in 1958, to live with his parents. In that year he became enthralled by Humberto Delgado's presidential campaign; Delgado lost due to massive electoral fraud perpetrated by the authoritarian Estado Novo regime. Between October 1959 and July 1960 he worked at the Technical School of Alcobaça. It was