Beyond the saudade. Living as a fado singer in Lisbon

Fado, the urban song of Lisbon, was inscribed in 2011 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Fado’s history partially mirrors that of 20th-century Portugal.  Its ill-famed origins linked to the alleys and taverns of the Alfama and Mouraria neighborhoods, contributed to creating a sort of mythology that fueled his poetics, and the best definitions of this musical genre are found in the verses of his songbook in which the word saudade, difficult to translate, continually echoes.It is something akin to nostalgia and melancholy, but it also expresses a restlessness, a longing, a regret and more, which cannot be precisely defined outside the Portuguese cultural context.But from the point of view of a fado singer, this risks appearing like an overused stereotype, and Rodrigo Costa Félix, who talks about his musical education and his way of feeling and interpreting fado, prefers to underline the poetic quality of the verses of the songs, often citing the charismatic figure of Amalia Rodrigues as an essential point of reference for his generation.About Rodrigo Costa FélixRodrigo Costa Félix is one of the Fado references of his generation. He started singing Fado at the age of 17.He made his professional debut when he was eighteen, at the São Caetano Restaurant (formerly Pátio das Cantigas) in Lapa - in Lisbon. There he hung out with great musicians and singers and really began to realise the importance of these places in any artist's apprenticeship.He started participating in major Fado events throughout the country, mainly with one of the biggest names ever, João Braga.His international career began in 1997 and he has been travelling around the world ever since.He participated in the first record of the so-called new generation of Fado, the CD “Alma Nova” in 1994, but his first solo CD, “Fados D’Alma”, was recorded only in 2008. Read moreEpisode's musical sources listRodrigo Costa Félix / O pai de todos os fados / Popular - Tiago Torres da SilvaRodrigo Costa Félix / Fado das mágoas / João Ferreira-Rosa – Pedro LafõesAmalia Rodrigues / Fado portugues / Amalia Rodrigues - José Regiohttps://youtu.be/1YriVM8sC7M?si=NQKqkRjA_smiZBoaTrovante / Travessa do poço dos negros / Luis Represas – João Gil Pedro Caldeira Cabral / Fantasie Tinha o nome de saudadeAmália Rodrigues / Povo que lavas no rio / Pedro Homem de Mello – Joaquim Camposhttps://youtu.be/CHn5eetWpFQ?si=hGNmVrw8-HyTXCCLAmália Rodrigues ao vivo em Milanohttps://youtu.be/UYD6hQQe6Go?si=MNr_f4UTgKWQ7d1bAmália Rodrigues / Grandola vila Morena / Zeca Afonsohttps://youtu.be/umbEOUYaxa4?si=tuxMWqund3C830OKMiguel Carvalho on his book about Amaliahttps://youtu.be/d8S8hSQvgds?si=BsRJ_ZkzV_3fnAuQRodrigo Costa Félix / Amália / José Galhardo - Frederico ValérioMariza / Lagrima / Amália Rodrigues – Carlos Gonçalveshttps://youtu.be/5RK1qGWl6r0?si=pnSGpJ5GfxQaxWyRMoment of Announcement of Fado as Intangible Heritage of Humanityhttps://vimeo.com/groups/785262/videos/54319143Rodrigo Costa Félix / Tinha o nome de saudade / João de Freitas – João Maria dosAnjosRodrigo Costa Félix / Amigo aprendiz / Pd. Zezinho scj. – Tiago BettencourtDisclaimerMediterranean Intangible Heritage Soundscape is a podcast by Paolo Scarnecchia, produced by UNIMED, Mediterranean Universities Union. Musical works included in the Podcast are used for purpose of illustration for teaching, and not for commercial purposes.Please notice that opening and closing voice over is generated with AI tools.