Food and Drinks
Hank's Travel Best > Trips
By Hank Leukart
November 23, 2013
Best place to discover Fado, Portuguese guitar music
Museu do Fado (Lisbon, Portugal)
M
y family and I were wandering the snaking cobblestone streets of Lisbon’s Alfama after a meal of traditional Portuguese salted cod when we stumbled across the Museum of Fado by accident. We hadn’t even heard any Fado music before when we walked inside and found ourselves reading about the music’s rich history and were enveloped by the tunes. We learned, according famous Fado musician José Pracana, that Fado, music characterized by melancholy vocals and melodies, is about vigor, not rigor (“O fado não tem que ter rigor, tem que ter vigor!”). We enjoyed our museum visit enough that when we found a Fado bar afterward, we decided to stay, and our newfound knowledge of Fado history helped us enjoy the music late into the night. WB
Largo do Chafariz de Dentro, No. 1., 1100-139 Lisboa, Portugal. +351 218 823 470. info@museudofado.pt. www.museudofado.pt.
To read the whole story of the trip on which I discovered Museu do Fado, read: Powered by Fado — Road tripping Northern Portugal.
A mural of famous Portuguese Fado singers adorns the Fado Museum in Lisbon’s Alfama neighborhood.
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