Music Of The Moment



The Queen of Fado.

The only singer in that genre I listen to. I do like the Portuguese guitar accompaniment. Especially the poker faced chaps.
 


The Queen of Fado.

The only singer in that genre I listen to. I do like the Portuguese guitar accompaniment. Especially the poker faced chaps.

By accident I managed to be at a bar opposite a cultural centre in Porto and noticed a concert that night of Fado. Clearly wasn’t aimed at tourists but the local cognoscenti. I’m nothing if not hip to what’s hip.

Got tickets. It was fantastic. Young professional players from jazz , classical and Fado. A couple of very young opera singers. Minimalist but imaginative staging and lighting. A challenging but impressive combination of jazz, avante garde classical and fado in a mix. Blew me away after the competent, enjoyable but somewhat predictable fado in cafes etc I’d seen.

so it’s still alive and innovating.
 
You had more luck than we did. We also saw ‘fado’ in Porto. It was just singing though, with no Portuguese guitars. I think they just stuck the label on for tourists. I am not sure but maybe fado is more of a Lisbon thing. Poorer areas - Alfama etc. There seems to be a lot of attention to it there anyway.

Apart from port, one thing I liked about Porto was francesinha - a local answer to American fast food, with all sorts of unhealthy ingredients. The women hated it and never let me forget it. When I have enquired in Portuguese restaurants in the U.K., I am told it is a Porto dish.
 

Well done to the winning jockey in this year’s Grand National.

She finished ahead of all the men, competing on the same terms in what is a very dangerous sport. I suppose office sweeps have disappeared with lockdown.

 

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