Mouraria - the birthplace of Fado

Good night, Hivers!

How are you? I hope they're all right. First of all, I want to share with you how much I enjoy being more active in this spectacular community. Not leaving the last idea aside, it's always good to thank all the comments you've left, and all the kind words you've sent me.

Having said that, today I want to share with you a short tour of the Moraria area. A very traditional neighborhood in my dear city of Lisbon. This neighborhood, as anyone from Lisbon knows, is famous not only for its melancholy nightlife, but for literally being one of the main cradles of the great voices of that particularly Portuguese song that is Fado.

One night when I went to that area to have dinner at a highly regarded Chinese restaurant, which is surprisingly called "Clandestino"... (that means illegal), we ended up taking a little walk after dinner, without leaving the opportunity, of course, to drink a beautiful "ginjinha" (liqueur drink made from the sour cherry fruit, which gives it its name).

In the Mouraria area we have several ginjinha houses, but we had to go to "Os Amigos da Severa", the best known, and you can see why it has that distinction.
First of all, the owner, who greets us in a very friendly way, welcomes us and asks to come in to taste his sour cherry. Seeing that we weren't tourists, behold, hostilities were opened, and drinks were served without delay. The "ginjinha" is served in a small glass, which in no time empties, leading to a more than usual and normal request for a second round!

From the second to the third the distance is very short, but as we were still going to drive, we stopped here... Ahahah

We took the time to return to the parking lot, and in my case to the train station (because I returned home by train), to see the exhibition "Portraits of Fado", by Camilla Watson, with photographs of the fado singers who had and they still have a strong connection to the Mouraria neighborhood, either because they were born here, or because they grew up or sang in the countless taverns spread across almost every alley.

Amália Rodrigues.jpg

I hope you like my publication today, with the atmosphere of the Mouraria neighborhood (imagine small taverns crowded with people elbowing each other to taste the beautiful nectar)... But that was not what happened... Ahahah The night was cold, and the streets practically empty. We promise to revisit this typical neighbourhood, but next time with more time and greater availability to record photos to share with you.

I also leave you with a fantastic mural that I saw with the theme of motherhood as inspiration!