Enter Portugal

Fado is the urban folk music of Portugal that appears to have its roots in the merging of the cultures of the Portuguese underclass the Fadistas (the fatalists), with the Portuguese-African ex-slaves who settled in the Mouraria and Alfama districts of Lisbon. It's known that guitar-accompanied dances such as the Fofa and Lundum were popular with both the Fadistas and the Africans living within these districts. Modinha, a Brazilian song-form very similar to the Fado was also popular and it's claimed that this, in combination with the dances, was the key ingredient in creating Fado music. Alberto Pimental writing in 1904 describes its birth:

The national plays performed in the Salitre and Rua dos Condes theatres contained Italian music, the most catchy airs of which become public property and were transformed into the modinhas which radiated all over the country. In these pieces were also interpolated Lundums, African dances which served as interludes. Gradually the Lundum began to take on an independent existence as a song which rapidly became the favourite of the lowest grades of society who gave it the name of Fado.

Museu do Fado

Entirely devoted to Lisbon's urban song universe, Museu do Fado celebrates Fado´s roots in the cultural history of the country. www.museudofado.pt

Senhor Vinho

Senhor Vinho is located in the Lapa neighbourhood, €50 covers a meal and show spread over 3 hours. www.srvinho.com/

O Faia

Established with the great names of Fado for more than half a century, the restaurant, O Faia, is often referenced in Fado music. www.ofaia.com

Clube de Fado

A historic venue in the heart of Alfama serving traditional cuisine in a stylish setting accompanied by some of the best Fado singers in the country. www.clube-de-fado.com

Fado conveys a yearning, a longing for that which could have been or cannot exist and most of its lyrics concern love affairs, jealousy and passion and the lives of the Fadistas. The first queen of the Fado was Maria Severa. Although Severa died when only 26 years old she defined the Fado. The daughter of a tavern owner, Severa and her mother moved into a tavern in the Mouraria when she was about 20 and it was here that she was first exposed to the world of the Fadistas.

In the mythology that surrounds Severa, it is claimed that her mastery in Fado singing was kindled by her yearning for a lover who was banished to Africa by the authorities for an unnamed crime. Severa became known to the public because of her relationship with a famous and glamorous bullfighter, the Conde de Vimioso.

Celebrating in a tavern after one of his victories in the bullring, he is said to have heard Severa's singing and at once couple began a passionate and unstable relationship.

In typical Fado style the relationship was a doomed affair, due to the resistance of the Conde's family and Severa's low social standing. Bowing to family pressures the Conde left her and Severa drank herself to death. The story of their tragic love affair entered Fado folklore and to this day female Fado singers wear a black lace shawl in Severa's honour.