Fundación EDPNews

Locals and tourists alike were able to enjoy a weekend of concerts, talks, exhibitions and films that turned the Spanish capital into a corner of Portugal. 

The voices of guest performers Mísia, Gisela João and Carlos do Carmo were chosen to bring the Fado to Madrid. Mísia performed her tribute to Amália Rodrigues –who passed away fifteen years ago- and sang new poems written especially for the project; Gisela João, a representative of contemporary fado, presented the album that she launched in the summer of 2013 and which within two weeks was topping the charts in Portugal; and Carlos Do Carmo, an elder statesman of Portuguese culture, returned to Madrid to present his latest album Fado é Amor.

The titles chosen to represent fado in film form at the festival were Fados, Fado Lisboa 68, Os amantes do Tejo, Mariza and the story of fado, O fado da bia and Filme do dessasossego.

Three talks were also organised: Rodando fados [“Filming Fados”], Conversa a 3 [“3-way Conversation”] and El fado me encontró un día [“Fado found me one day”]. Visitors were also able to learn a little more about fado via the exhibition O fado no cinema [“Fado on Film”], set up with the co-operation of the Fado Museum and the Portuguese Film Library. The exhibition looks at the importance of the big screen as a way of spreading fado over the years, from the silent era to contemporary films.