At Porto Secreto our mission is to write about the city and its surroundings, but we also like to focus our attention on some national curiosities. For example, did you know that November 27th is World Fado Day?
In this context, we decided to dedicate this article to a style that, more than a musical genre, represents Portugal. After all, it’s no coincidence that Fado has been classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. So today, to pay homage to Fado, we tell its story.
Table Of Contents
What is Fado?
According to the Priberam Dictionary of the Portuguese Language, “fado” refers to
1. A superiorforce that is believed to control all events.
2. That which has to happen, regardless of human will.
The dictionary entry also adds a third definition, related to music:
Portuguese popularsong, usually performed by a vocalist (fadista), accompanied by Portuguese guitar and classical guitar
The best thing about Fado, as a musical style, is that it doesn’t contradict any of the other definitions. Fado, our Fado, is all this and more.
Fado’s origins
It emerged in a popular context in nineteenth-century Lisbon, when people began to sing spontaneously on the most diverse occasions and in the most diverse places. The themes were essentially of everyday life, of urban emergency. In its early days, fado was associated with social contexts.
From then on, Fado began to gain expression in the most varied popular festivals in the capital and soon reached the theater, through the Revista plays. In the 19th century, the “décima” poetic form was officially established and the guitar began to make its mark in the accompaniment of sung fado.
Already more consolidated and a common presence at social parties, the 20th century saw a greater dissemination of Fado and the inclusion of this style in more cultural programs. Already a regular presence in the theater, national companies of fado singers also began to appear, which made it possible to promote more and bigger shows.
At this time, radio stations also played a key role in spreading this music.
Fado at the time of censorship in 1927
Like all artistic areas, Fado also underwent mutations from its original form during censorship after the May 1926 coup. Not only could the lyrics be censored, but also the presentation of the performers or the performance spaces were subject to new rules.
Fado, which until then had essentially been created improvisationally, now had a dedicated network of interpreters, lyricists, composers and instrumentalists who performed in different venues for an increasingly wide audience.
As time went by, the tendency to listen to fado in specific venues, “the fado houses”, began to consolidate . These began to appear more prominently in Lisbon, in Bairro Alto, from the 30s onwards.
The fado singers, who never completely abandoned improvisation, began to take an interest in singing about typical things and it was at this point that Fado began to become closer to what we know today, genuine and picturesque.
Fado and the arts
We’ve already talked about Fado’s relationship with radio and theater and, of course, cinema wasn’t indifferent to this musical style either. Many films portrayed Fado on the big screen until the 1970s, including, for example, “O Fado, História de uma Cantadeira”, starring Amália, or “O Miúdo da Bica“.
This presence on the radio, in the theater and in the cinema meant that Fado transcended geographical barriers and increasingly became a Portuguese symbol.
Amália Rodrigues
Around the 1950s, Fado crossed paths with one of Portugal’s greatest symbols: Amália Rodrigues.
The fado singer played an important role in internationalizing fado and consolidating it as an art form. Amália Rodrigues’ fado knew no borders, language or culture.
From the moment she appeared and became a fado singer, until her death in 1999, Amália was an icon of national culture who took the country’s good name, through Fado, to the four corners of the world.
Fado after April 25, 1974
The Salazar dictatorship and its censorship placed Fado in an undeserving position that was restored with the implementation of the democratic state in 1974. From then on, Fado ceased to be a matter of debate, as its importance and significance became consensual .
Considered to be Portuguese musical heritage, the record industry began to pay increasing attention to this style and a new generation of musicians emerged: some fado singers, others immensely influenced by Fado, such as António Variações or José Mário Branco.
Since then, there have been many great names in the current context of Fado, such as Camané, Mariza, Gisela João and Raquel Tavares, among many, many others who are equally talented and excellent ambassadors for this music.
The history of Fado is immense and grandiose. Here we’ve highlighted just a few important and remarkable moments, but there are many more, because for something so complex and sensitive, these lines are not enough.
At Porto Secreto, and as Portuguese, we love Fado. Fado is ours. Fado belongs to all the Portuguese.