New Bedford, Massachusetts
Portuguese fado singing

Fado music, sometimes referred to as the heart of the Portuguese soul, developed in the port city of Lisbon where it was performed at waterfront clubs and bars frequented by sailors and seamen. Some say it came as a dance from Africa in the 19th century and some speculate it started at sea as the sad, melodic songs coaxed from the rolling waves by homesick sailors and fishermen. Whatever its origins, by the early twentieth century fado had become a fixture in the everyday life of Lisbon's working class and skilled singers or fadistas performed at the end of the day and long into the night.

Normally fado music sung by men or women and accompanied by one 12-stringed Portuguese guitar ( guitarra ) and one bass guitar (referred to as a viola in Portugal). Sometimes a second acoustic guitar is added and in recent years, fado recordings have added piano, and violin and accordion, instruments that sometimes accompany the music on the streets of Lisbon.

The essential element of fado music is saudade, a Portuguese word that translates roughly as longing, or nostalgia for unrealized dreams. One must have the soul to transmit that feeling; a fadista who does not possess saudade is thought of as inauthentic. Over the years, the themes of fado music have remained constant: destiny, betrayal in love, death and despair. It is a sad music and a fado performance is not successful if an audience is not moved to tears.

Fadista performers Ana and José Vinagre were born in the fishing village of Buarcos, Figueira da Foz, Portugal. At an early age they participated in their church choir and in the local community playhouses doing stage plays and operettas.   Before they moved to the United States in 1972, both had been members of folkloric dance and music ensembles in Portugal that performed all over the country and in other European countries.   Settling in Massachusetts, they have continued to perform at Portuguese restaurants and community events in New England as well as in festivals and concerts around the nation.

Links
http://figueira.net/fadosingers/index2uk.html

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