The Soul of Alfama: A Letter About Fado and Belonging- authentic Lisbon experiences

This article was originally published on my Substack, where each week I share stories from my life in Lisbon its food heritage, local traditions, neighborhood culture, and the hidden experiences most visitors never get to see. If you’re looking for authentic Lisbon experiences, meaningful food and culture tours, or a deeper way to understand Portugal beyond the typical guidebook, you’re always welcome to subscribe. And if my writing resonates with you, I would love to host you in person my tours are built with the same care, research, and authenticity you find here.

To be honest, I was planning to talk about fermentation and give you some recipes. However, last weekend I attended a fado experience that made my heart melt and my emotions awaken. So it’s my duty to spread that joy, to share this story with you.

Those who have already visited Lisbon or have a slight interest in Portugal already know we have 3 sacred F’s: Fátima, football, and fado. So far, fado was an experience I had mostly in restaurants and concerts. It’s a bit difficult for me to understand and embrace all those emotions in a language that isn’t mine, but I always find it thrilling. In full quietness, accompanied by one or two guitars, that strong voice gives me goosebumps, sailing me through my emotions-from today to the past, past to future. Time gets blurred. Even though you don’t follow the lyrics, you always feel there is something very strong being shared with you. There are incredible fadistas whose voices belong to another world, magical, healing, almost sacred. But until last weekend, I don’t think I ever fully grasped the true power of fado. That changed when I found myself in a real street fado experience.

Before I tell you about that experience, let me talk about the people who organized it: APPA - Associação do Património e População de Alfama. They are volunteers doing huge and impactful work to preserve Alfama’s heritage, its locals, and its local life. Maria, she is the founder and director of the association and I crossed paths when I was trying to develop my project. As you may know, I’m always trying to collaborate with entities that create real value and impact for society, the ones we don’t really notice unless we truly involve ourselves in the city. I had a chance to be part of their solidarity community dinners and already knew some of them. So when I got the event poster from Maria, I immediately cleared my day for this activity.

Besides, there was another fact that really thrilled me: this experience was in a lavadouro. Lavadouros are public washhouses where people used to wash their clothes. We still have a few of them in Lisbon. They are usually open for visits but are no longer used for their old purpose. But if you are very lucky, you can still see someone doing laundry in Alfama.

This was my first real fado experience-street fado-full of improvisation, where everyone contributes with singing or clapping, sometimes followed by tears, other times continuing into birthday celebrations. The audience was mixed: Alfama locals from age 3 to 96 (yes, as Maria announced and introduced her, a real Alfama woman), tourists, non-Portuguese locals like me, and families of the fadistas.

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