Virtually unknown outside Portugal until the fadista Mariza won the BBC Radio 3 award in 2003, fado, the earthy street music of Lisbon, has hit the world music scene.
Roughly translating to 'fate', fado music is peculiar to Portugal. Sung by a soloist - a fadista -and accompanied by a traditional 12-string guitar, the sound of fado is like nothing else. Its sad lyrics are sung in a deeply soulful voice, usually a rich contralto that rises and falls as it speaks of love, passion and betrayal. Fado can also be sung by men, but the most beloved singers have been women.
Perhaps the closest to fado is the classic French chanteuse, although you would never mistake one for the other. But the voices are similar - think Edith Piaf's rich, melodious voice and melancholic melodies.
Fado has two distinct styles. In Lisbon it is the personal and emotional song of individuals, sung in a small setting. It began here as urban folk music, perhaps evolving from the songs of sailors far from home. Even today it is not heard in concert halls - the right location is a small club or café, dimly lighted and moody, like the music. In fact, local friends tell us that this is how to tell a local and authentic fado house from one run for tourists: if it's big enough to have a stage, it's not for locals.
Coimbra, a university city to the north, has an entirely different style, more like the songs of a troubadour. Singers there are usually men, mainly groups of black-caped students.
One of the best known fadistas in recent years was Amalia Rodrigues, whose recordings are still available. When she died in 1999 (she had been singing since the 1940s), three days of national mourning were declared. Lisboans cried in the streets.
Hear the real thing in the tiny places of the Alfama, Lisbon's steep old Arab quarter. The best way to find real fado is to ask a local (not your hotel concierge or cab driver, who will send you to tourist places). Although it is not undiscovered, a good and authentic place in the Alfama is Parreirinha de Alfama, at Beco Espirito Santo 1.It is owned by aging singer Argentina Santos, and the food is as traditional as the music. (Tel. 21-886-8209, open 8pm-2am Mon-Sat.) Below the Alfama is the excellent little Casa do Fado e da Guitarra Portuguesa (Fado and Guitar Museum), at Largo do Chafariz de Dentro 1, tel. 351 21-882-3470.
