Mariza, one of today's leading fado singers, will bring Portugal's cherished music form to the Hopkins Center tonight, March 3.
"It's a music settled on the feelings of life, lost love, jealously, sadness -- saudade," Mariza said in a telephone interview with The Dartmouth.
Fado has its roots in both Brazilian and North African musical traditions and first emerged among the urban immigrant communities of 19th century Portugal.
Over the past two centuries, fado has evolved from a modest lower-class folk music into an internationally recognized art form, undergoing several changes along the way.
"All urban music moved, like the society moves," Mariza explained. "The fado they used to do in the beginning of the 19th century, or the middle of the 19th century, is not the same fado we sing today, because it doesn't have anything to do with what we're seeing today in this new Lisbon with this new world. With this new Portugal and this new generation, everything is different."
Mariza is among a small group of artists who have brought this incarnation of traditional fado to contemporary audiences in Portugal and around the world.
Her ability to help modern audiences connect with a centuries-old musical form may stem from her willingness to experiment. She said she views the evolution of the genre as an organic and necessary process.
While fado traditionally features only a singer, or "fadista," and two guitars, modern fado often includes additional string, brass or percussion accompaniments.
In the performance tonight, Mariza will be joined by a trio of guitarists (Angelo Freire on the 12-stringed Portuguese guitar, Diogo Clemente on the acoustic guitar and Marino de Freitas on the acoustic bass), as well as Vicky Marques on percussion and Simon James on piano and trumpet.
Born in Mozambique and raised in Lisbon, Mariza grew up listening to traditional fado musicians at her parents' cafe and began singing at age five. While growing up, Mariza experimented with several other, more modern genres.
Mariza said her status as an international fado symbol has come as somewhat of a surprise to her. She said that she intended her first album, "Fado em Mim" (2001), as a gift for her father.
"When I did my first record, it was not a record to be released," Mariza said. "It was just a record to have fun. [Fado] was not popular and people didn't buy it. The labels were not prepared to have a fado record because they used to say 'Fado only sells 3,000 records.'"
Yet "Fado em Mim" sold 140,000 copies and became the first of Mariza's four platinum records.
Though she never intended to become an international star, Mariza said she believes it was her destiny to sing.
"I never choose, you know, that's the thing," she said. "I was surrounded by the music. I didn't choose fado. I think fado chose me."
Her latest album, "Terra" (2008) alludes to this lifelong connection to fado.
"This record, 'Terra,' has all the roots and the basis of what I've learned since I was a child," she said. "But at the same time, it's a record made of eight years of touring without stopping, where I saw and I felt different cultures, different decisions, different rhythms, different attitudes, different music. All of that influenced me in a positive way to do this record. I think I grew as a person, as a woman, as a singer."
Hanover is just one stop on Mariza's three-month North American tour. While the artist and her band normally travel for one month at a time, Mariza said that she has enjoyed the longer tour so far.
"This time we decided to make a three-month tour without stopping and until now it's been great," she said. "I'm loving it. Of course, I miss a lot my town, my friends, my family; but at the same time, it's a new experience and I'm learning. I'm growing as a person and as a singer."
For Mariza, fado is the music born of African slaves, Portuguese sailors and Brazilian immigrants. Mariza said she sees her tour echoing the epic journeys of 15th century explorers, sailing vast distances on caravels.
Mariza will perform tonight in Spaulding Auditorium at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $5 for students and $35 for the public. Mariza will host a post-performance discussion immediately following the concert.
