The Madrid Fado Festival is holding its fifteenth edition on 22 April, 3 and 4 May, offering a unique opportunity to enjoy some of today’s greatest exponents of the genre. This year, Fábia Rebordão, Kátia Guerreiro and the Alvorada Trio will be the representatives of Portuguese music. Furthermore, attendees will discover the genre in depth thanks to a conference and a screening that will take place during the festival, which is being held at UMusic Hotel Teatro Albéniz and CaixaForum Madrid this year.
This latest edition of the festival devotes its programme to commemorating the Centenary of the birth of Carlos Paredes, a great musician whose legacy has become one of the great monuments of Portuguese culture. The genius of Carlos Paredes is closely linked to the evolution of the Portuguese guitar, a family tradition that began with his great-grandfather, Antonio Paredes, continued with his grandfather, Gonçalo Paredes, his great uncle, Manuel Paredes and with his father, Artur Paredes. Thanks to this lineage of great musicians, this musical instrument became a living and universal symbol of Portuguese culture.
The biography of this extraordinary musician and composer will be revealed through the concerts, film, conference and exhibition presented in the 2025 edition, analysing his extensive and plural legacy, which is still very much alive in the 21st century and continues inspiring different generations of musicians and listeners all over the world.
During the festival, the National Film Library (Cine Doré), traditional venue for the Fado Festival, will host the screening of Perpetual Movements, a documentary that reveals a tribute to the life and work of Carlos Paredes through testimonials and music, on 3 May. This will be followed by the conference Luísa Amaro – “Carlos Paredes: a arte de ser português com génio e assombro”.
The musical programme kicks off on 22 April at the CaixaForum Madrid with the Alvorada Trio made up of António José Vicente Pereira Lopes, Ricardo Jorge das Neves Dias and Pedro Nuno Pereira Lopes. Through songs by Carlos and Artur Paredes, they will visit some places from the of the “Paredes” geography of Coimbra. From the Quebra-Costas steps where the family lived and where Paredes was born, a route is presented through the performance of each of the songs in the respective geographic places in the city.
On 3 May, the programme moves to the UMusic Hotel Teatro Albéniz with an exclusive concert by Fábia Rebordão, considered to be one of the leading voices of Fado today. Although fado represents her passion for music, her musical influences range from soul, to bossa nova, morna from Cape Verde, blues or jazz. Her debut album in 2011, A Oitava cor, was acclaimed by the critics and marked the start of a promising career. Now, the artist is coming to the festival to present her latest album.
The programme draws to a close on 4 May with the performance by Kátia Guerreiro at UMusic Hotel Teatro Albéniz. She is renowned as one of the leading representatives of the Portuguese culture worldwide and one of the best singers of her generation. With numerous awards under her belt, the artist will be appearing at the Festival to review all of her albums and to pay tribute to all of the composers, poets, musicians and friends who have accompanied her on this journey spanning a quarter of a century.
Programme:
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