Ana Moura in Concert in New Bedford, Massachusetts

Ana Moura

Ana Moura brought an eclectic but strongly traditional fado experience to the Zeiterion Theatre in New Bedford on Saturday night (4-Feb), the first stop on her 2012 North American tour. If you don't know the fado or are curious about it--and even if you do know the fado--this is the tour for you.

The band opened with a guitarrada, after which Ana promised both traditional and "musical" fado (that is, music that is relatively new, or that has not yet entered into the fado canon). Unless my notes are wrong, she then sang "Fado das Águas" and "Fado vestido do fado", both from her new record, "Leva-me aos fados" ("Take me to the fados"). While the music was often traditional fado, the lyrics were usually new. Some of them, like "Caso Arrumado"--written, as Ana explained, from the perspective of a woman in a love triangle--might not have made it through the censors that operated in Portugal during the Salazar dictatorship. Some of her selections were earthy and seductive ("Porque teimas esta dor"--Why do you fear this love?), while others spoke of loneliness and separation ("Por um dia", or the classic "Loucura").

The energy level started high and stayed that way. This was due to some perfect combination of artists (Ana and her band), repertoire, and audience.

Ana Moura has been on an upward trajectory since her career began in earnest with the album Aconteceu ("It happened"). I heard her first in 2005 at Joe's Pub in New York City. I'd never seen a fado singer shimmy before (my late aunt, who really knew the music, said that that show was the best she'd ever seen). In 2007 I heard her in The Hague at a double bill with the crazed Nynke Laverman. The Dutch went bonkers for Ana. The last time I saw her was in 2009 at Campo Pequeno (Lisbon) in a tribute to Amália Rodrigues. She is good on record, but in a live setting her voice has better projection, and is fuller, more expressive and more intimate. She sang with power and grace, with no pyrotechnics whatsoever, and tremendous magnetism ("You want us to clap now? Of course, no problem, we're doing it.") She said in an interview some time ago that she only sings what she feels. Now that attitude, perhaps as a result of her maturity as a singer, is really paying off.

The band dug deep into rhythms and layers that are often only implied. Ângelo Freire, a young guitarist (and singer) who has toured with Mariza and played with many others, has a fast, subtle style on the Portuguese guitar. He moved deftly through the two guitarradas (instrumentals) of the night, and he shined in fados like "Os Búzios", providing a fresh perspective on music that Ana has played probably hundreds of times. Even "No Expectations" and "Brown Sugar"--which could have been real clunkers--came across pretty well. The Portuguese guitar is a delicate instrument that relies for rhytmic backing on a six-string "viola" (a classical guitar) and sometimes a "viola baixa" (a four-string bass guitar). The viola baixa, here played by Yuri Daniel in his first date with the band, was a type of electric bass. While the reverb added depth to the sound, at times it drowned out the finer points of both the guitarra portuguesa and the viola (played by Pedro Soares), both of which were acoustic.

Ângelo Freire

The end of the main show came on shockingly  fast, and the crowd did not take it too well. We had been on a nonstop, intense ride through the fado, with plenty of verbal exchanges between the exceedingly discriminating audience (consisting of lots and lots of Portuguese) and Ana, and no one was ready to call it off. Ana herself seemed a bit taken aback by the whole thing. There were people yelling out for their favorites from the repertoire of classical fado, and from hers as well--and she was actually listening. This is something that happens all the time in Portugal, but very seldomly here.

The band came back for an encore that drew on the Portuguese folkoric tradition (with "Bailinho à Portuguesa" and "Fadinho Serrano", both masterfully done), along with "Esta noite" and that damn Rolling Stones song. After this, despite all the energy left in the room, we admitted defeat and decided to wait for the next time she'd take us all to the fados.

Where this blog has been, where it's going

This blog has reached 10,000 hits, so maybe it's time to reflect very briefly on its equally brief history. First off, I must say that I am grateful for those hits. The fado is not exactly a topic with universal appeal, and this blog does not attempt to cover the big names.

Given the scope and readership of the blog, it has been interesting to see Artur Batalha's stock rise (both here and on my YouTube channel). Batalha gets the most queries and the most hits. There are bunches of hits associated with fado performances in the US, and with recent fado records, especially the preview and review of the January 2012 show at Carnegie Hall. The traffic sources are interesting. Somebody in Russia is out there, and there are people coming in from two excellent sites: "Fado Cravo" and "All This is Fado" (come back Anton, we need you!).

Speaking of this, if you want to see some heavy traffic (and excellent) Portuguese language fado sites besides "Fado Cravo", check out Lisboa no Guiness, Fados do Fado, and de fado. Someday I am going to write an article about the fado in the blogosphere: there is some really good stuff out there. For now, back to work!

Fado at Carnegie Hall

Jorge Fernando

Jorge Fernando brought a very unique fado show to Carnegie Hall last night (24-Jan-12), one that exploited the tension between the old and the new fado in ways that I'd never have expected.

The typical fado show has a very predictable structure: guitarrada (just the musicians playing), followed by a number of individual singers, each of whom sings three fados and then leaves the stage. There is usually an intermission (the intervalo) somewhere along the line, after which the cycle restarts. The folcloric music and touristic fado of the early evening are gradually replaced by the "fado fado", so that as the night goes on, things usually get more serious and heavy. Jorge's structuring of the show tonight was something else. In sentiment and in intention, it was somewhat like, but both more and less.

Waiting for the fado to happen

The layout of the stage sent a clear signal: six chairs arrayed in a semi-circle—very different from the typical single microphone and a place for the musicians to sit. After the performers entered, instead of a guitarrada, they played something of a ronda, with each singer taking turns singing verses during perhaps half a dozen fados. One fado transformed seamlessly into the next, thus keeping everyone in the audience slightly off balance and attentive.

Filipa Cardoso stepped to the edge of the stage to sing "Reviver o passado", followed by Fábia Rebordão for two fados, including a classic about Chico do cachiné—a song for all the Portuguese in the upper balcony. Then Filipa came forward again for "Meu amor marinheiro". So, one singer sandwiched in by another? In the fado? Very strange.

Before the intermission, Jorge Fernando himself sang, this time in duet with Fábia Rebordão—another rarity. But this one worked well because the two harmonized perfectly. (They have been playing together in a trio with one other musicians for some time.) The opening set mainly included songs from straight out of the fado tradition, but expressed within a structure that sat far outside it. My only complaint is that the excellent guitarist, José Manuel Neto, was given very few opportunities to shine (and there were fewer still for the player of the viola baixa, Gustavo Roriz).

In performance

After the intervalo, the musicians opened with a guitarrada that included some beautiful playing by Neto. He has a precise rhythmic touch, purposefully falling a bit behind the beat on his way to a spectacularly fast finish.

During the remainder of the set, there were many times when I felt that Jorge had taken us beyond the fado, whether that meant into new frontiers or over the edge of the precipice.

Filipa Cardoso was followed by Fábia Rebordão, who sang one of Jorge's best known fados, "Chuva"—dosing her delivery with soul and blues inflections. Celeste Rodrigues, the artist of honor for the night, then gave us two pure fados: "Lisboa" and "Meu Corpo" ("My body"), both of which speak of loneliness and separation, from the city in "Lisboa" and from a lover in "Meu Corpo". Reader, I cried. After these fados, and indeed throughout the night, Jorge showed a special tenderness towards Dona Celeste: looking at her warmly, taking her hand after she sang. This made me think of their long history together, bridged by Celeste's sister, the great Amália Rodrigues.

After Celeste's turn, Jorge staked out the opposite frontier of the territory: "Pode ser saudade." Those who knew this song were compelled to sing it, almost by reflex. It's one of those songs, like "Triguerinha"—another of his—that always shows up in the fado, and is always sung by everybody in the audience. But is it fado? Hard to say, but it is now part of the fado. And for me, that makes them fado.

Filipa Cardoso represented the another vein of the traditional fado: her delivery, her presence, her appearance, her repertoire, all sat squarely in it. She is the type of singer you would be lucky to find some evening in Lisbon as you wander from tavern to tavern. Hearing her at 2AM you  suddenly realize you are in the midst of the real thing. As my old musician friend used to say, she has all the coração, sentimento e alma (heart, sentiment and soul) you could want.

The next moment cut me from my moorings: Fábia sang "Bridge Over Troubled Water." It is no stretch to say she is technically an excellent singer, and her rendition of this song probably drew the biggest applause of the evening. While it was definitely not fado, it was a thoughtful nod to her audience, to her sister (to whom she dedicated the song), and perhaps to the realities of the music world these days.

The next stretch of songs was almost all folklore—more evidence of Jorge turning convention on its head. By this point, there was alot of good will in the audience. Celeste sang "Verde Limão", followed by Jorge with "Quem vai ao fado", and Celeste with "Havemos de ir à Viana". All of these are songs about happy times and another vital element of the tradition.

Mais um fado!

They left the stage and it really looked like the show was done: people started leaving, the lights came on, and yet more people left. But the ones who had stayed started clapping, and this was enough to bring the performers back. As they moved towards their seats, Jorge clearly said "No", and directed them to the front of the stage. The musicians propped up their legs on chairs, and the singers stood alongside them. Now we are going to the fado. Celeste wondered aloud if we would be able to hear her. Thanks to the acoustics of the space, we could. What happened next was a thing of beauty, of intimacy, of everything that enables the fado to bring people together, even if the room is Carnegie Hall.

Details on the show:

Singing by Celeste Rodrigues, Fábia Rebordão, Filipa Cardoso, Jorge Fernando.

Portuguese guitar: José Manuel Neto

Viola: Jorge Fernando

Viola Baixa: Gustavo Roriz

Organization: Michael da Silva (left), MD Fado Productions

Four Upcoming Fado Shows in the US

Celeste Rodrigues, Fábia Rebordão, Filipa Cardoso

Carnegie Hall

New York, NY

24 January 2012
See my report.

Ana Moura

Various locations/dates

Incl. New Bedford on 4 February 2012

Carlos Macedo

Clube dos Açores

Newark, NJ

7 April 2012

Also in Mineola, NY on 14 April 2012

Manuela Cavaco, Pedro Botas 

Salão da Igreja Nossa Senhora de Fátima

Elizabeth, NJ

18 February 2012

$45–including dinner

Pedo Botas is a young fadista, based in New Jersey, who has been getting a lot of justly-deserved attention. This is his CD release concert, so I expect that he will be in good form.

I have been following Manuela Cavaco for just a few years. She did ask me to rectify a recent comment about her. She said, "Eu não era amiga íntima de Amália, sou sim perdidamente apaixonada por Amália." That is, "I was not an intimate friend of Amália [Rodrigues], but I am hopelessly enthralled by her." She has a very refined and dignified style, and has played with some top-notch people (always an indicator of the quality of the singer). I spoke with Manuela recently about this show, and she is looking forward to performing here. I think this will be a very good show, and at this price it is likely to sell out fast! See and hear a sample of her work here and on her own blog here.

More on this one later...

Pedro Galveias

Pedro Galveias is an established fado singer in Lisbon who has been on the scene since he was a young boy. With this release from Saudade Records, his singing is finally getting a proper representation on disc. Here he reveals a deep sensitivity for both established and new material. Tracks such as "Eu Quero" ("I want") and "Uma Gota de Alegria" ("A drop of happiness") suggest his compelling presence as live singer. This is an excellent introduction to the fado as it is happening now in Lisbon--the kind of view that you normally have only by visiting there. For a sample of Pedro singing with some top-flight musicians, see this.

Pedro Galveis, 1995 Grande Noite de Fado

Pedro recently (12-Jan-2012) appeared on Portuguese TV singing Eu Quero, and also being interviewed. Pedro is worth seeking out if you ever visit Lisbon. He sings regularly at Os Ferreiras, and at various locations around the city (tough to predict exactly where). Though still only in his 40s, he has been singing for more than 30 years--and the experience shows. He won the Grande Noite do Fado twice, first in the young people's category (in 1986), then in the adult category (in 1995--see photo). He is one of a group of very successful singers of this generation, including Jaime Dias, Luis Matos, Vítor Miranda, Ricardo Ribeiro and Miguel Ramos. All of them were deeply influenced by the great Fernando Maurício, particularly in their ability to communicate directly with their audience.

I've had many opportunities to hear Pedro and to speak with him, both in Portugal and in the US. In Lisbon, he sang frequently in the Mouraria (here's a writeup, in English, of one such event, along with video, but here's another). In the US, he visited Newark, NJ not so long ago. Here's a sample.

The record is available on iTunes (even in the US!).

Fado in 2011: Notable Fado CDs, Films, etc.

This was a banner year for the fado. In addition to sound recordings, there were films, publications and some noteworthy events--most importantly UNESCO's designation of the fado as "Immaterial World Patrimony". Below is a list with a few links and even fewer comments: I'll add more of both as soon as I can. Please give your own recommendations in the comments: I'd like to know what I missed!

Recordings

Below I've listed ten fado recordings from 2011. For the traditionalists, I would heartily recommend the records by Aldina Duarte and Pedro Galveias, as well as anything from the collection "Fados do Fado." The records by Fábia Rebordão and Luisa Rocha are definitely fado, though some of the tracks borrow instruments and musical stylings from other forms.

Five Notable Recordings

Fábia Rebordão. A Oitava Cor*

Aldina Duarte: Contos de Fados

Pedro Galveias: Loucuras de Um Fado*

Luisa Rocha: Uma Noite de Amor

Various. Fados do Fado

Five Other Recordings

Cuca Rosetta: Cuca Rosetta

Amália Rodrigues: Amália no Olympia (reissue)

Célia Leiria: Caminhos

Helena Sarmento Fado Azul

Vánia Duarte: Efeito do Fado

And in case you missed it...

Various: Biografia do Fado. This is one of the best introductions to the fado that I know of.

*available on iTunes in the US (I mention this because alot of the other records are going to be hard to find outside of Europe).


Films

All of these are documentaries, with interviews and performances. Most are being shown on RTP, though the transmission is not always available outside of Portugal.

Fernando Maurício

• "O Rei Sem Coroa" is a long overdue film about Fernando Maurício (left), made by Diogo Varela Silva
• "Vida vivida" is a film about Argentina Santos, made by Gonçalo Megre. 
• "Não sei se canto se rezo" is a second film about Argentina Santos, director unknown (to me).
• "Heaven's Mirror" is a film about the journey of a non-Portuguese--the film's director, Joshua Dylan Myers--to the fado. No distributor yet!
• "Fado das Horas" is a short film that is pure visual poetry, also by Diogo Varela Silva. Watch it here.

Publications

I'll have to say more about this later, but the next time you're in Lisbon check out the bookstore at the Fado Museum. In the meantime, Ellen Gray's book on the fado should be out "soon"--watch for it!

UNESCO

The fado has been recognized by UNESCO as Immaterial World Patrimony. Good news? Bad news?

Departures

José Manuel Osório

José Fontes Rocha
I know there were others, but I did not keep a list. Maybe next year.

Fado at Carnegie Hall, New York City, on January 24, 2012

The fado is about to make one of its rare Carnegie Hall appearances. In fact, this is just the fourth time that this music is to appear in the illustrious space. (Update: See my report on the show.)

The event is "Fado: From Lisbon to New York". The title should be taken literally. The singers and musicians are not just some of the best in Lisbon, they are also part of a tight-knit group that has been playing together for years. The artists span multiple generations and include two of the most influential people on the fado scene today, the singer Celeste Rodrigues and the singer, composer and lyricist Jorge Fernando.

Celeste Rodrigues

Celeste Rodrigues' reputation within the Portuguese fado community stretches back to the 1940s. She returned from a year-long stay in Brazil in 1945 with a new, distinctive style that has marked her as much more than the sister of Amália Rodrigues. While her discography includes nearly 60 releases, they are exceedingly difficult to find (with the exception of a recent release, Fado Celeste). She continues to sing in some of the most illustrious fado houses in Lisbon, and is regarded as one of the last linkages to the time when fado was not nearly as well known as it is now. Indeed, at 88 she is the oldest practicing fado singer in Lisbon (for those who are wondering, Argentina Santos is one year younger).

José Manuel Neto

Jorge Fernando and Fábia Rebordão

Celeste is being joined by two other female singers, Fábia Rebordão and Filipa Cardoso. Fábia's voice and command of the material have grown in strength and stature. In the true spirit of the fado, she is able to take an established fado and sing it like no one else has. She is also a lyricist and composer. Both Fábia and Filipa draw on both the established repertory of the fado, broadened with lyrics composed by contemporary poets such as Mário Rainho (who has written extensively for Ana Moura and many others), Aldina Duarte, Manuel de Freitas, and Jorge Fernando.

Filipa Cardoso

The musicians for this concert are among the best that the country has to offer. José Manuel Neto, who plays the Portuguese guitar, is prolific--and busy. You can find him on YouTube, wearing flip-flops and playing in an obscure tavern in the south of Portugal, and the next day on stage with the biggest names in fado. Jorge Fernando has been involved in the fado since the the days when he was contracted by Fernando Maurício and Amália Rodrigues to write and play for them. Probably his best known composition in the USA is "Chuva", as sung by Mariza.

The concert represents a confluence of all these traces of the fado, stretching back over more than forty years, yet intimately strung together.

More information on the show, including ticket information, is here. The event is being organized by MD Fado Productions, led by Michael da Silva. Thanks to DVS for the added information and clarifications on on Celeste Rodrigues' career.

Artur Batalha!

Many thanks to César Ferreira (from Os Ferreiras) for posting these two videos of Artur Batalha from 1975. I make it a habit not to take up posts with links to YouTube videos, but these are truly exceptional for their rarity and quality. Plus it's Batalha!

"Tempos da Criança"

Letra: Eduardo César

Música: Clemente Pereira @ 1975

Guitarra Portuguesa: António Chaínho / José Luís Nobre Costa 

Viola: José Maria Nóbrega

Viola-Baixo: Raúl Silva

"A Cruz Que Te Dei"

Letra: Alexandre Fontes

Música: Jorge Fontes @ 1975

Guitarra Portuguesa: António Chaínho / José Luís Nobre Costa 

Viola: José Maria Nóbrega

Viola-Baixo: Raúl Silva

And years later....

"A Cruz Que Te Dei"

Guitarra Portuguesa: Carlos Gonçalves

Viola: Lelo Nogueira

For the truly committed, I put together two YouTube playlists with all the videos of Batalha singing live that I know of. The first set is mostly my videos; the second is all from others.

Fado and UNESCO

Rui Viera Nery, António Costa and Fernando Andresen (l-r)

Today (27 November 2011), UNESCO voted to inscribe the fado on the "Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity." The vote represents a recognition from UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural organization) that the fado is a manifestation of Portuguese culture deserving of worldwide recognition. The application has been led by Rui Viera Nery and supported by the efforts and good wishes of many people, but not everyone is certain that a outcome will actually benefit the fado.

On this point, the discussion among the fadistagem has revealed plenty about the contested significance of the fado, particularly whether it is most accurately viewed as a music of the people (i.e., something is lost when it happens in a big concert hall) or as music qua music (i.e., the fado in the concert hall is the highest expression of the fado). 

Today's announcement came via Twitter around 7:15am EDT:

‘Fado, urban popular song of #Portugal’ now on #IntangibleHeritage Representative List. Portugal’s 1st inscription! See http://bit.ly/teAVkp

The Portuguese papers already have a number of articles on this historic event (e.g., Publico, DN), with links to a bunch of other good stuff. One example: Nery has said that the "extraordinary incompetence" of the leader of today's meeting produced a long delay in transmission of the results. Here is a report from Bali (where deliberations took place) from RTP that includes an interview with Rui Nery (4:00).

In the interview, Nery emphasized a little-discussed consequence of this recognition. The Portuguese government, by putting forth the candidacy, committed to the preservation and promulgation of the fado, which includes dissemination of materials to schools, as well as preservation and dissemination of archival materials (the Museum of the Fado is probably the fulcral point for the latter). But he also emphasized his gratitude to the fadistas (which I think he means includes musicians and poets!) who make the fado. So much so that, according to Nery, the scholars' main responsibility is to follow their work in order to record it.  He concluded by saying that this is a great day for Portuguese culture generally, as this recognition opens the door to a broader appreciation of Lusophone culture.

António Costa

Once the decision was announced, António Costa, Mayor of the City of Lisbon, which was the formal submitter of the application, thanked the chair. Then he pulled out his cell phone, held it up to his microphone, and played a fado from Amália Rodrigues--Estranha Forma da Vida. Excellent! 

The complete text of the official description of the fado according to UNESCO, along with documentation to support the application as well as the text of the decision is here. Here are some other documents:

Report of the Subsidiary Body on its work in 2011 and evaluation of nominations for inscription in 2011 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

All nomination files can be consulted from 13. Representative List
ITH/11/6.COM/CONF.206/13+Corr.+Add.: English|French


Report by the rapporteur on the meetings of the Subsidiary Body in 2011
ITH/11/6.COM/CONF.206/INF.13: soon available


Regardless of the hubbub over what this result may or may not mean for the fado, this recognition represents a triumph for Portuguese scholarship on the fado (my understanding is that the effort was executed entirely by Portuguese researchers and collaborators) and, clearly, for the placement of a uniquely Portuguese art form in the worldwide cultural firmament.

One night at Sr. Fado in Lisbon

I've been meaning to write this article for a while. The longer I wait, the more daunting the task becomes. The fact of the matter is that I went with friends to hear the fado in Lisbon, and it became one of those nights that captures just about everything that is the fado.

I was in Lisbon for a conference that I helped organize, and wanted to bring a few people out for the fado. I spoke with Ana Marina and Duarte at Sr. Fado, and they said they could accommodate our group of seven (no six, no ten, no eight, no really, seven)--which represents a significant percentage of the total seats available, maybe twenty maximum. The atmosphere here is very relaxed. The kitchen is in the back, just off the main room. Doesn't matter: the cooking staff is the talent--so there's never kitchen noise during the fado (compare with some of the joints in the Bairro Alto).

(Most of) Our party

No one in the group except me had ever been to the fado before. I warned them: This is not tourist fado. We're only going to be able to talk in between the fados--never during. We are going to have to eat there. And I am not making any promises whatsoever about the quality of anything, including the fado. They all agreed to come anyway.

We arrived for dinner. Meanwhile the musicians were warming up, discussing various fados. Ana Marina and Duarte were working the kitchen, preparing the cataplã. Our group consisted of Zeno, Mark, Michelle, Bartel, Frank, Julie and Brian.

This was a Wednesday night, which is when the "tertúlia" happens: a wide variety of friends and colleagues comes to play and sing. A few of the singers are somewhat regular, but many are not. The corps of musicians is more stable, but again--one never knows who will show up. Tonight on the guitarra portuguesa were Dr. Nuno de Sequeira, José Barnay, Carlos Albino and D. Edmundo Albergaria (yes, four guitarists); and on the viola, four others: Duarte Santos (the proprietor), and three engineers: Renato Infante, José Infante, and Ferreira-Alves. This is alot of musicians, though not all were always playing.

Mark, Ana Marina, Duarte, Dude

Carlos Mendes Pereira
(photo provided by Sr. Fado in Alcochete)

Between the time when we arrived (about 20:00) and the time we left (03:00 the next day), we heard alot of music and many fadistas. Here's my list, from first to last to appear (follow the links to the videos). A guitarrada opened the evening. Quim Cigano (literally, Joe the Gypsy) was the first to sing. He is an imposing presence, with a very rich baritone, long gray hair in a pony tail, and a very dark look in his eye. Next was Fernando Morreira, followed by one of the revelations of the evening, Carlos Mendes Pereira. This is a singer who is very strongly in the tradition of the fadistas of the "other side"--across the Tejo river in Alcochete. I do not have a decent picture of him from this evening, but at left is a photo graciously provided by the other Sr. Fado, (no affiliation with this one, and perhaps not coincidentally located in Alcochete). I have heard that it is an excellent place to hear the fado. Mendes Pereira's version of "Maria da Cruz" evoked many singers, particularly João Ferreira-Rosa (who is strongly associated with this fado) and Carlos Guedes de Amorim, both of whom are linked to Alcochete in various ways. But Mendes Pereira's performance distinguished itself from those of both these other singers. Here it is (apologies for the crummy quality).

Ana Marina

The next fadista was Ana Marina. Her transformation from cook to heartbreaker is shockingly fast, but subtle. Perhaps it is this combination of working and singing that enables her to connect with the other people in the room without pretension or distance. Here she is singing "Não vou, não vou", and here singing "Maria Lisboa". After Ana came Nuno Siqueira (the guitarist), followed by Quim Cigano and Dr. Manuel Tomás, here singing a menor. Next was Maria Júlia, a classy lady who I heard sing many times at the Baiuca and other houses during my year in Lisbon.

While all this was happening, I kept seeing Artur Batalha darting around outside, occasionally peeking in to the restaurant.

Fernando M., Artur Batalha,
C. Mendes Pereira, M. Tomás (l-r)

Somewhere around this time there was a break. I managed to get outside and talk to Batalha for a few minutes, also with Fernando Morreira--simpático as always.

The next fadista, Leonel Moura, sang the "Fado da Internet" and "Pastel de Nata", both of which are very light, even humorous, fados. Dr. Tomás then sang the "Fado dos Saltimbancos", another fado associated with Alcochete, with Carlos Mendes Pereira.

Dr. Tomás

Probably there was another break. Now it was late. Almost everyone in the restaurant except Zeno, Mark, Michelle, me and a few other die-hards had gone home. I was losing hope that Artur Batalha would sing. But whaddya know? There he is,  standing in the doorway, ready:

Quadras Soltas (with Dr. Tomás)
Estrela que se apaga
Noites perdidas

As I saw Batalha heading down the Rua de Regueira, Duarte said to me about him: "Ele abre a boca, e o que sai é fado". Which may be translated as, "He opens his mouth, and what comes out is fado." As in, by definition.

The night concluded at 3am with Ana Marina. Thanks to Ana Marina and Duarte for the lovely evening. And thanks also to Mark Pfaff, his friend Michelle, and to Zeno Franco for contributing the still photographs.

Ana Marina