1178 | 21 | “Tudo isto é fado”. Lisbon’s Fado Soundscape Between Identity and Tourism

In cultural geography, several authors agree on the existence of a two-way relationship between music and place. Thus emerges the concept of “soundscape”, according to which a geographical space is identified and perceived also thanks to its auditory dimension. This is certainly the case of Lisbon’s fado: born in the slums of the Portuguese capital during the XIX century, it has now achieved a strong tourist value, also thanks to its inclusion in the list of Unesco Intangible World Heritage in November 2011. The origins of fado are still debated, but it certainly appeared in Lisbon during the XIX century in the ruas (streets) and tascas (taverns) of popular districts such as Alfama and Mouraria. Subsequently fado turned into a “codified” genre of entertainment in the casas de fado (fado houses), conquered theatres, radio and tv and crossed national borders thanks to its most celebrated interpreter, Amália Rodrigues. There is no doubt about fado as an identity factor for the city of Lisbon, as is also evident from the lyrics of the songs, which contain unusually numerous toponyms related to Lisbon and to its topography and heritage. However, a tourist exploitation of fado is occurring, fueled by a growing offer and amplified by its inclusion in the Unesco List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2011. Through field missions aimed at identifying and locating the places of fado in the city, we tried to understand if this musical genre still expresses an authentic inspiration and a popular feeling, or if it is rather turning into a representation aimed at an audience of tourists, which inevitably involves a process of commodification and trivialization.

Luca Zarrilli
University “G. d’Annunzio” of Chieti-Pescara (Italy) – Department of Economics

ID Abstract: 21

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