Fado is the song of Lisbon par excellence. The expression of an intimate feeling, of a soul that cannot be explained but can be felt, it is still the noblest and most genuine expression of Portuguese popular culture, and it always surprises visitors to the capital. In 2011 UNESCO added it to the list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Fado is fado, and cannot be pigeonholed.
Professional fado and fado vadio
Some divide fado into two souls: professional and amateur. The first is sung by those who make their voice their living: talented artists who give their all and have made the beauty of Portuguese song known worldwide. In professional fado houses there is a precise ritual: the lights dim, silence falls and the fadista sings accompanied by two musicians.
The second is fado vadio, "vagabond" or amateur fado. In the taverns of the Alfama, Mouraria and Bairro Alto the singer is not invited: he invites himself. There is no fixed programme: you eat a grilled chouriço, drink a few glasses of wine, the lights go down and the magic begins. Anyone, from a local pensioner to a young singer, can stand up and sing.
History
Fado's origins are still uncertain and there are many theories. The first reliable evidence dates from the 1820s and 1830s, in Lisbon's working-class and harbour districts. Some say it comes from sailors' songs; others link it to departures and the discoveries, to the grief of those left on shore watching loved ones leave with no certainty of return; others see it as a child of Brazilian and African dances and songs, such as the lundum and the modinha, much loved in late eighteenth-century Lisbon when the court returned from Brazil.
One thing is certain: the first great figure of fado was Maria Severa (1820-1846), a singer from the Mouraria, heroine of a legendary love affair with the Count of Vimioso. Hers were songs of the alleys, of heartbreak, of saudade and the Portuguese soul. During the nineteenth century fado moved from taverns to aristocratic salons, and in the twentieth it also became a voice of protest and social criticism. Salazar's dictatorship controlled it through censorship and used it as a national symbol, but after 1974 fado managed to renew itself and win over new generations.
Who sings and how
Traditionally fado singers wear dark clothes, women a black shawl. The fadista sings of love, the city and life's hardships, and criticises society and politicians. The accompaniment is the guitarra portuguesa, a pear-shaped twelve-string guitar with a bright sound descended from the European cittern, and the viola, the classical guitar, sometimes with a bass. The word fado comes from the Latin fatum, "fate", and it is said to reflect the people's belief in a destiny that rules life and cannot be escaped, the heart's primacy over reason.
Coimbra fado
Coimbra has a different tradition: Coimbra fado, linked to university life, is sung by men, students and former students wearing the black academic cape, and is more lyrical, like a serenade. You can hear it in the evening on the steps of the Sé Velha or in small venues in the old town. The singer-songwriter José Afonso, whose song Grândola, Vila Morena was broadcast on the radio as a signal to launch the Carnation Revolution, came from this tradition.
The great singers
The undisputed queen of fado is Amália Rodrigues (1920-1999), who took fado to the world and now rests in the National Pantheon; her house on Rua de São Bento is a museum. Great voices from different generations include Lucília do Carmo and her son Carlos do Carmo, Maria da Fé, Fernando Farinha, Alfredo Marceneiro, Argentina Santos and, more recently, Camané, Mísia, Maria Ana Bobone, Mariza, Ana Moura, Carminho, António Zambujo, Gisela João, Ricardo Ribeiro and Cuca Roseta, who have renewed the genre by opening it to other music.
Where to hear fado in Lisbon
Fado is mostly heard in the traditional quarters. In the Bairro Alto there are historic houses such as Adega Machado (Rua do Norte, 91) and Café Luso (Travessa da Queimada, 10). Near the Sé, at the edge of the Alfama, is the Clube de Fado (Rua de São João da Praça), while in the Alfama itself is the Taverna do Embuçado (Beco dos Cortumes, 10). Other famous houses are Senhor Vinho in Lapa (Rua do Meio à Lapa, 18) and Timpanas in Alcântara (Rua Gilberto Rola, 24). For fado vadio, Tasca do Chico in the Bairro Alto and several Mouraria taverns are well known.
In fado houses you have dinner, and prices are usually higher than at an ordinary restaurant, often with a minimum spend; it is customary to stay silent while someone is singing and to book at weekends. To learn the history of this music, the Museu do Fado, in Largo do Chafariz de Dentro in the Alfama, is well worth a visit. Fado also accompanies many folk festival evenings, as described on the page on Lisbon's festivals, and a good Portuguese dinner is the ideal setting.
To discover the country's other music, see Portuguese music beyond fado.