New York Fado is Portuguese folk music about “saudade,” the deep longing you feel in your soul when far from home and your loved ones.
It’s the music of Portuguese sailors who explored the world, and the loves they left behind.
The Fado Festival is New York City’s big celebration.
New York Fado Features
Mariza is The Queen of Contemporary Fado
ALICE TULLY HALL, Lincoln Center, Manhattan 🇲🇿 🇵🇹
NEW JERSEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, Newark, New Jersey 🇲🇿 🇵🇹
New York Fado News
Fado Artists
- Amália Rodriguez (1920-1999) 🇵🇹
- Ana Moura 🇵🇹
- Cesária Évora (1941-2011) 🇨🇻
- DJ Ride 🇵🇹
- Gisela João 🇵🇹
About Fado
Fado was a folk music that almost died. It was once considered the old-fashioned music of your grandparents. Some of the instruments on which it is played are almost medieval.
Amália Rodrigues (1920-1999) was the the “Rainha do Fado” (The Queen of Fado). She is the one artist who is most responsible for popularizing the music around the world.
Mariza (1973), who is Portuguese Mozambican, sang a televised tribute to the Queen after the death of Rodrigues. After that her friends urged her to record an album. She did and a new queen was crowned. It is wonderfully ironic that Mariza is originally from a former Portuguese colony.
Since then a new generation continues to explore and expand the form with all sorts of modern fusions. But no matter how you play it, it is always the haunting music of saudade.