All This is Fado

Just got back, at almost 1am, from a Fado Night down in town, at Casa dos Lacerdas. Joana Vales, the singer shown here, was excellent, and then there were a few others, including some locals, who were called up and did well. On the guitar, António José Caeiro, and on the Portuguese guitarra, António Barros. Here, a rendition of one of the songs Joana sang, Tudo Isto é Fado. (And here, an English translation.)

Fado is obviously serious business, and people knew the words, but it was at the end, when they started singing Cante, that everyone really joined in and sang from the heart. Both Fado and Cante are Unesco world heritage, but Fado was associated with Salazar, the dictator who persecuted the Alentejanos, and Cante is much more rooted in Alentejano life.

Gratefuls:
- the place being packed, and so many folk we knew, including Zé Maria
- loads of rain in the night, and enough sunshine in the day to do a wash
- Christmas lights, Mourão is really lit up this year