Fado - the sound of Portugal

Every region of the world has its own sound. The most authentic sound of Portugal is fado, which literally means "destiny". The roots of fado reach early XIXth century, when Portuguese sailors were expressing, with very poetical lyrics, how much they miss their families by singing fado. It is "saudade" (nostalgic, melancholic missing) that is the main topic of fado songs. The typical musical instrument of fado is the Portuguese guitar (12 strings) - guitarra portuguesa/guitarra de fado. It is very often accompanied by the Spanish guitar - violão.
The lyrics referring to "saudade" sang by a fado singer (always dressed black) matched together with the guitar sound result with very emotional pieces of music, which appeal to the listeners.

The best place in Portugal to discover fado is Alfama - Lisbon's oldest district. That is where people gather at night and where cosy restaurants sound of fado.

Whenever I heard a story of how somebody got to the place where the fado was played, it's never been easy to get there just from the street. In every story, there was always a friend of a friend whose friend told another friend that a friend... and so on... In my case, the chain was a bit shorter. It started from my Portuguese friend - Carolina - who originated in the North of Portugal and moved to Lisbon few years ago. Carolina asked her friends, who weren't native Lisbonians as well, if they knew any fado place worth recommending. Luckily, they knew - Mesa de Frades at Rua dos Remédios 139 in Alfama.

As I googled the restaurant (of course I could have done it before, but what for? to miss all the fun?), it turned out to be one of the top fado houses in Lisbon where some of the best Fado singers perform. It is necessary to make a reservation before coming there - the place is very small. Mesa de Frades is also known for its famous guests such as Mariza - one of the most famous modern fado singers or Pedro Almodovar - the Spanish movie director.

I've found a very old picture of Lisbonians listening to fado in front of Mesa de Frades. For sure the atmosphere of the place has changed a lot, since such tourists as me, started showing up there.

One of the kings of Portugal was in love with beautiful Dona Rosa, so he decided to build a palace for her in Alfama - Palacio da Dona Rosa, which obviously included a chapel. The actual restaurant Mesa de Frades is arranged in the former chapel of Dona Rosa and the old blue tiles are still on the interior walls.

On the Friday evening of June, Carolina and I took our seats by one of Mesa de Frades' tables. I've ordered a dish that, as Carolina told me, was the specialty of the place - massada de cherne. The fado musicians were supposed to show up in 1 hour... And that's all I can tell here. The rest - experience it yourself!
You can check out Mesa de Frades or simply try your luck on the streets of Alfama. Who knows whom can you meet and where they can take you... There are still fado places hidden from tourists where not many have been to.