Fado is a Portuguese music style. It is usually sung by one person (singer) and accompanied by classical guitar (in the media singers called viola) and Portuguese guitar. The fado was elevated to the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in a declaration adopted at the Sixth Intergovernmental Committee of this international organization, held in Bali, Indonesia, from 22 to 29 November 2011.
The word fado comes from Latin fatum, ie "destiny".
Fado begun in the streets of Lisbon in the second half of the 19 century, packed in chains of romanticism, a song that expressed the sadness of the people that were disappointed towards this season, dropping their letters in their sorrows, so it would set them free. This later comes to the halls of the aristocracy, quickly becoming an expression of national music.
The modern fado began and had its heyday with Amalia Rodrigues. It was her, who popularized fado with lyrics of great poets such as Luís de Camões, José Regio, Pedro Homem de Mello, Alexandre O'Neill, David Mourão-Ferreira, José Carlos Ary dos Santos and many others.
One of the most recognised faces of Fado in 20 centruy is the singer Marisa.
