LISBON’S FADO SOUNDSCAPE: BETWEEN IDENTITY AND TOURISM

Abstract

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. In this paper we try to understand if fado corresponds to a still authentic feeling, or if it is turning rather into a “scenography” and a representation aimed at an audience of tourists, which inevitably involves a process of “commodification” and trivialization.

Keywords

• lisbon
• fado
• soundscape
• identity
• urban tourism