Fado Nation

Portugal is home to fado music, so I took in a show one evening in Porto. There was a guitarist, with a Portuguese guitarra player, along with one male singer and an older female singer, though the singers always sang solo and for separate songs. It was enjoyable overall, though it eventually felt repetitive to my untrained ears. Prior to the musical performances, the guitarist spent 15 minutes explaining fado (in English), which was about 10 minutes too long, in my mind. And then he repeated his entire explanation in Spanish, which definitely made it too long!

Fado songs reflect Portugal’s bittersweet relationship with the sea. Fado means “fate”—how fate deals with Portugal’s adventurers…and the women they leave behind. These are songs of both sadness and hope, a bittersweet emotion called saudade (meaning yearning or nostalgia). The lyrics reflect the pining for a loved one across the water, hopes for a future reunion, remembrances of a rosy past or dreams of a better future, and the yearning for what might have been if fate had not intervened. (Fado can also be bright and happy when the song is about the virtues of cities such as Lisbon or Coimbra, or of the warmth of a typical casa portuguesa.) The songs are often in a minor key. The singer (fadista) is accompanied by a 12-string Portuguese guitarra (with a round body like a mandolin) or other stringed instruments unique to Portugal. Many singers crescendo into the first word of the verse, like a moan emerging from deep inside. Though the songs are often sad, the singers rarely overact—they plant themselves firmly and sing stoically in the face of fate.

Rick Steves

Here’s a snippet of one the songs from our session. It looks like they do two or three sessions per night, and sell out each one!

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Both apartments I’ve stayed in while in Portugal (Porto and Sintra) have interior wooden shutters for all the windows so that you can completely shut out any exterior light. It’s not hot here now in November, but I bet these are great to keep out heat in the summer, and they’re also helpful for having a nice dark room to sleep in!

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Much more than in any other country on this 9-week trip, Portugal has kept many of its old Covid signage, even when it no longer applies. I know that they were hit really hard, and it seems like they may be a bit afraid of needing all these signs again soon. It is admittedly confusing though, since these signs are now not applicable and so are safely ignored.

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Today’s funny sign:

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Today’s limerick:

Portuguese fado songs are often sad
If I knew the words I might cry a tad
They can sing of lost love
But when push comes to shove
Telling fado's lengthy background is bad. 

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Today’s travel quote:

Wandering re-establishes the original harmony which once existed between man and the universe.

Anatole France