Music has the power to take us to faraway places. Most of those
places are only in our heads. But for me, the music of one singer had
the power to take me all the way to the capital of Portugal.
Fado, Lisbon’s mournful song and the Portuguese most traditional and well known music
genre, was added to UNESCO’s list of World’s Intangible Cultural
Heritage.
Fado is currently a world wide known symbol of Portugal, being
represented for many years in foreign countries by Amália Rodrigues,
and more recently by Ana Moura, Mariza and Katia Guerreiro, among
others.
The April 1974 Revolution instituted a democratic State in Portugal,
founded on the assumption of the integration of public liberties,
respect and guaranty of individual rights with the inherent opening of a
more active civic, political and social participation to citizens.
This fado is closely linked to the academic traditions of the University of Coimbra
and is exclusively sung by men; both the singers and musicians wear the
academic outfit (traje académico): dark robe, cape and leggings.
There’s a theory that says the Portugese Guitar appears in
Europe as the instrument that accompaned a Congolese dance called
"Lundum". Meanwhile it was imported to Brazil an then influenced the
portugese courtship.
Have you by any chance ever been inquisitive enough to have visited the
museum of the city of Lisbon? If you have you would certainly have had
the opportunity of enjoying this beautiful painting entitled "Fado".
