A Fado Festival For Rabat in April

The first edition of the Fado Festival will take place on the 20th and 21st of April in Rabat. The festival will not only include music, but also conferences and films

Fado as a music genre can be traced to the 1820s in Lisbon, Portugal, but probably with much earlier origins. Fado historian and scholar Rui Vieira Nery says that "the only reliable information on the history of Fado was orally transmitted and goes back to the 1820s and 1830s at best. But even that information was frequently modified within the generational transmission process that made it reach us today."

Although the origins are difficult to trace, today fado is commonly regarded as simply a form of song which can be about anything, but must follow a certain traditional structure. In popular belief, fado is a form of music characterised by mournful tunes and lyrics, often about the sea or the life of the poor, and infused with a sentiment of resignation, fatefulness and melancholia. This is loosely captured by the Portuguese word saudade, or "longing", symbolising a feeling of loss (a permanent, irreparable loss and its consequent lifelong damage).

The Fado Festival will feature a new generation of Fado singers. Amongst those will be Maria do Carmo Carvalho Rebelo de Andrade, known simply as Carminho, who will perform on April 20 at the Mohammed V theatre in Rabat.  (See video below).

The following day will be a chance to see Luís Guerreiro, a talented guitarist who has performed around the world with Fado superstar Mariza. On this occasion he will appear with two singers Maura and Rodrigo Costa Felix.

Luís Guerreiro

Maura, although only 17 years old, has paid her dues in Casas de Fado, the Fado houses of Lisbon and is considered one of the future international stars.

Maura - a rising star

Rodrigo Costa Félix is ​​one of the precursors of the new generation of Fado and heir to the great tradition of male Fado singers in Lisbon. Professional Fado singer since the age of 17, his versatile career has led him to sing in Fado houses as well as concerts in Portugal and abroad, participating in tv shows and documentaries, and major record projects and main Fado events.


Rui Vieria Nery, one of the specialists of Fado, will give a lecture on the history of this art. The singer Rodrigo Costa Felix will lead a discussion on the Casas de Fado, spaces dedicated to this type of music and which are included in the intangible heritage of humanity by UNESCO.

Rodrigo Costa Félix

The festival will also show two films devoted to two figures of this popular music. The first, entitled " Com que voz ", traces the story of Alain Oulman, composer of Fado persecuted by the regime of Salazar. Oulman is notably famous for having collaborated with the the Queen of Fado, Amalia Rodrigues.

The second film, entitled " Mísia a voz do Fado ", is a documentary about the career of the famous singer Mísia, who became queen of the Fado following the disappearance of Amalia Rodrigues.

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