Portuguese Music

Portuguese music is the national musical tradition of Portugal, spanning the fado of Lisbon and Coimbra, the guitarra portuguesa virtuosity of *Carlos Paredes*, regional folk song and dance, and the post-1974 singer-songwriter movement led by *José Afonso* and *José Mário Branco*. Its most famous voice remains *Amália Rodrigues*, whose recordings fixed the saudade-laden idiom of fado, while ensembles such as *Madredeus* and singers including *Mariza*, *Dulce Pontes* and *Carminho* have carried Portuguese song to international audiences without severing its ties to the taverns, universities and neighbourhoods where it began.