Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
France 24
France 24
Entertainment
Eve JACKSON

Fado Bicha: The Portuguese duo bringing fado music out of the closet

ENCORE! © FRANCE 24

This year, France is celebrating Portuguese culture. Fado music is often upheld as the essence of Lisbon, a mainstay in a rapidly changing capital city. In this special show from Portugal, Eve Jackson meets the duo reinventing the music that embodies the nation's soul. Fado Bicha are Portugal's queer anti-racist feminist musicians and they're challenging the traditional, conservative, ritualistic fado.

We also visit Lisbon’s famous fado houses in the Alfama neighbourhood, one of the many draws for the city’s annual 4.5 million visitors.  

Born in and around the brothels, alleyways and tascas of the city’s poorest neighbourhoods in the 19th century, fado later became associated with the fascist regime that dominated Portugal for nearly half a century. We explore its complicated history at Lisbon's Fado Museum and we discuss the massive influence of Amália Rodrigues, the "Queen of Fado", who first pushed the genre's boundaries, helping to develop and define it into what it is today. 

We also look at fado's influence on other music stars like pop sensation Bárbara Bandeira, who recently recorded "Onde Vais" with the nation's top Fadista, Carminho.

>> Lisbon: How African music is breaking down racial barriers

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.