Fado
Far from being the meadow of the Lisboteans, Fado is a national treasure that is cherished throughout the country, including the Algarve. Derived from fatum, which in Latin means 'destiny', this song with its rough poetry is the very expression of saudade, a singularly Portuguese bittersweet melancholy. Its origins are still open to debate, and no one is quite sure where it comes from: a port gulping, local evolution of Moorish song, gypsy lament or vocal modulations derived from Brazilian rhythms? A bit of all that probably. For centuries, Fado has been a real popular song that comes out of the guts of the child or adult who sings it - and embraces the one who lets himself be conquered. Usually sung by a woman dressed in black accompanied by musicians on guitar, the genre is forever immortalized by the most famous of fadistas
, Amália Rodrigues, a huge star who died in 1999 and is buried in the national pantheon. During her lifetime, the singer was able to move an audience to tears, so much so that her style, charged with humanity, supported the subtle timbre of her voice.Today, Fado is far from simply belonging to the heritage. Each generation has taken it over and has seen excellent artists like Madredeus and the overwhelming voice of his fantastic singer Teresa Salgueiro, Camané, considered at one time "the greatest fadista since Amália Rodrigues", great artists like Dulce Pontes, Mariza or Cristina Branco or the great voices of the new generation: Ana Moura and Cuca Roseta.
In the Algarve, fado concerts are more than regular and many restaurants bring musicians in at weekends to liven up the meals. This is particularly the case in Loulé where, hidden below the castle, there is the restaurant A Muralha, very romantic and with a fado concert every Friday evening. In Tavira, it is at the Casa do Polvo Tasquinha that you will find fado evenings. It isin the same town that you will find Fado Com Historia, a forty-minute show including several key pieces of the genre, sung by the house singer Tereza.Traditional music
While each Portuguese region has its own folklore and musical traditions, the Algarve stands out for its dances such as the famous corridinho, which is particularly lively and full of accordion, or the bailes mandados and bailes de roda. Also, whatever folk style is played in the Algarve, certain instruments are more often played than in the rest of the country. Examples are castanets, the cavaquinho - a typical small guitar -, the triangle and the pandeiro
, an instrument similar to the tambourine. Thebest way to hear traditional Algarve music is to visit local folklore events such as the Festival Da Sardinha in Portimão in August.Popular music
Naturally, the Portuguese do not only listen to Fado and many artists from all walks of life are very popular in the country. Among them are Zeca Alfonso and José Mário Branco, two beloved figures of the song, famous for having stood up against the dictatorship, or the singer Rui Veloso, whose lyrical and intelligent lyrics have accompanied the Portuguese in their daily lives for the last thirty years, considered the father of Portuguese rock. In fact, rock music is a stainless steel genre in Portugal. The pioneers Xutos e Pontapés are still played on the radio and The Legendary Tigerman (Paulo Furtado's artist name) and his band the Wrayguns are cult (or almost) since the end of the 1990s.
Let's not forget to mention the pimba, a local specialty made of accordion, cousin of the German schlager or the Balkan turbo-folk, of which the exuberant Quim Barreiros is the incarnation. He is a frequent visitor to the Algarve, and most popular festivals feature the pimba at some point.
In the Algarve, the Cais Club in Olhão is a good example of Portuguese popular music and mixes a lot of music from the 1980s, rock and Portuguese variety in a very good atmosphere.Current music
In recent years, Portuguese youth has been particularly dynamic and innovative on the international scene. Drawing on the roots of Portuguese-speaking African countries (Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, Mozambique, Sao Tome), the young creation has given birth to new aesthetics, mixing African kuduro, kizomba or taraxo with electronic music such as house, grime or techno. A superb avant-garde once represented by bands like Buraka Som Sistema and now embodied by the fabulous label Principe Discos.
If creation is mainly shared between the two urban poles of Lisbon and Porto, paradoxically, there are many dedicated stages in the Algarve. In Faro, for example, the Cabaret, a new trendy club, has a very good reputation. You can hear a lot of good alternative and underground music there. Less underground but also well programmed, the bar-restaurant Pé do Copos, located in the small square of Pé da Cruz, is the favourite place of the inhabitants of Faro to have a drink with concerts or DJs. And of course, in the capital of the Algarve, Faro had to be equipped with a cultural facility worthy of the name: the Teatro Municipal de Faro, a beautiful amphitheatre with 772 seats and often with a quality program. Otherwise in Lagos, the Centro Cultural offers some good concerts and in Portimao, the Nosoloagua, a huge bar decorated in the Balinese style, hosts many DJ nights. It is in this same city that you will find the BPM Festival, rich in house and underground techno. Always in the festival section, every August, the town of Sagres hosts the Super Bock Surf Fest on Tonel beach with a lot of concerts.The dance
If the Algarve is not the most danceable region of Portugal, the place still maintains some interesting folklore, often visible during popular festivals. This is particularly the case of the madeira, a dance that originated in Madeira and which responds to more exotic sounds and the sound of castanets. Also worth mentioning is the minho and its many variations, whose spectacular costumes make the performances particularly popular. There is also a dance to seduce one's partner, the ribajeto, where a man turns around a woman singing a few verses. That said, the most typical traditional dance in the Algarve is undoubtedly the corridinho. Originating directly from Scotland in the 19th century, the corridinho and its lively music is danced in couples, the women inside the circle, the men outside. The couple then moves in circles just as quickly. Good footwork is recommended to keep up with the speed of the steps.
