Fado

Fado

Fado is a Portuguese music style characterized by the uniqueness of the Portuguese guitar, a single voice, the shawl, the feeling and the word “saudade”. It was declared Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

This Portuguese symbol was spontaneously originated in Lisbon during the 19th century, in a social context and with daily life and urban emergence themes. From the 1930s, it began to consolidate when people start to listen and sing in the “houses of fado”, and with the composition of songs that describe the Portuguese culture and soul.

The fado singer portrayed in this painting, Amália Rodrigues, was the first singer to take Fado to the four corners of the world, becoming one of the greatest icons of Portuguese culture.