The History of Fado

Born in the popular contexts of 19th-century Lisbon, Fado was present in moments of conviviality and leisure. Fado would also gain ground at festive events linked to the city’s folk calendar, charity festivals and cegadas — amateur and folk theatre performances.

The Teatro de Revista, a typically Lisbon genre of light theatre born in 1851, soon discovered the potential of fado, which, from 1870 onwards, became part of its musical line-up. The social and cultural context of Lisbon, with its typical neighbourhoods and bohemia, took centre stage in this type of performance.It was also during this period that the guitar, throughout the 19th century, progressively spreading from the urban centres to the rural areas of the country, became defined as a specific accompaniment to fado. Gradually, there tended to be a ritualisation of the act of listening to fado in fado houses, places that were mainly concentrated in the city’s historic neighbourhoods.

And if fado was present in the theatre and on the radio from the very beginning, the same would happen in the seventh art. This is illustrated by the fact that the first Portuguese sound film, directed in 1931 by Leitão de Barros, was about the misadventures of the mythical figure Severa.After the inauguration of Rádio Televisão Portuguesa — in 1957 — and especially with its nationwide broadcast in the middle of the following decade, the faces of the artists would be made known to the public.
Fado’s poetry is strongly evocative and calls for communion between performers, musicians and listeners. It evokes themes linked to love, fortune and individual fate, and the narrative of everyday life in the city. From the 1950s onwards, fado crossed paths with classical poetry through the voice of Amália Rodrigues. With the decisive contribution of composer Alain Oulman, fado began to sing the texts of poets with academic training and published literary work, such as David MourãoFerreira, Pedro Homem de Mello, José Régio, among many others.

Through Amália, Fado overcame the barriers of culture and language to become a definitive icon of national culture. For decades, until her death in 1999, Amália Rodrigues would be the national and international centre of attention.In the 1990s, fado was definitively established on the international World Music circuit with Mísia and Cristina Branco, on the French and Dutch circuits respectively.

Also in the 1990s, another name that stands out on the Fado scene is Camané, who has achieved great success. Since the 1990s and at the turn of the century, a new generation of talented performers has emerged, such as Mafalda Arnauth, Katia Guerreiro, Joana Amendoeira, Ana Moura, Ana Sofia Varela, Pedro Moutinho, Helder Moutinho, António Zambujo, Rodrigo Costa Félix, Carminho and Raquel Tavares. On the international circuit, however, Mariza has taken centre stage, carving out a glittering career in which she has legitimately won successive awards in the World Music category.