The recording of the album Cantigas do Maio, in which "Grândola, Vila Morena" was included, took place at the Strawberry Studio in Château d'Hérouville, in Hérouville, France, in October 1971.

Branco, Afonso and two other musicians, Francisco Fanhais and Carlos Correia, went out at 3 a.m. to do the recording, in order to avoid the noise caused by passing cars on a nearby road.

[6] The state censorship still operated in the event, and Afonso was forbidden from performing some of his songs with more political messages, such as "Venham Mais Cinco" and "A Morte Saiu à Rua".

[7] Two signals were then decided: the first would be Paulo de Carvalho's "E Depois do Adeus" (which was the Portuguese entry in the Eurovision Song Contest of 1974) and the second would be Afonso's "Grândola, Vila Morena".

The military coup operation was successful and resulted in the Carnation Revolution, which overthrew the dictatorship of the Estado Novo regime and marked the beginning of the transition to democracy in Portugal.

[10] In September 2020, protests against the Portuguese far-right party Chega in Évora were marked by crowds singing "Grândola, Vila Morena".

Portuguese artists who have covered the song include Amália Rodrigues,[11] Dulce Pontes,[12] Roberto Leal,[11] María do Ceo[13] and UHF.

[11] Internationally, it has been covered by Nara Leão,[11] Franz Josef Degenhardt,[11] Charlie Haden,[11] Agit-Prop,[11] Betagarri,[11] Autoramas,[11] Reincidentes[11] and Garotos Podres.

[11] A version by Spanish singers Cecilia Krull and Pablo Alborán is included in Season 5 of the Netflix series Money Heist.