About
Ana Laíns is one of the brightest stars in Portugal’s centuries-old tradition of fado singing. She brings a bell-like clarity to this genre of minor-key laments about the hardships of life at sea, the pressures of urban poverty, and, above all, the heartbreak of romance. Like all the legendary fadistas (female fado singers), Lains aims for the experience of saudade, the feeling that one has been overcome by fate and carried away like a stick caught in the water’s current.
Often described as the soul of the Portuguese people, fado is arguably the world’s oldest urban folk music, having emerged from the bustling cafes and side streets of old Lisbon in the early 19th century. A true fadista embodies the soulfulness of this musical tradition, delivering lyrics with barely controlled raw emotion.
“People think of it as a sad music, full of sentiment, sang by nostalgic women,” Laíns says. “And that is true, but there is more to it than that. It was first sung by sailors and other men in the 19th century. Most of the times, traditional fado has no melody, and it is part of a good fado singer’s job, to improvise and create his or her own style.”
Laíns grew up in the rural Portuguese region of Ribatejo, but at the age of 19 she moved to Lisbon to become a professional singer. There she honed her skills in the traditional fado houses—small, darkened taverns where locals listen to fado over wine. She had her breakthrough when she won Lisbon’s “Grande Noite de Fado” (“Grand Night of the Fado”), the country’s top fado competition. This led to her 2006 debut album, Sentidos, which expanded the scope of fado to include international influences.
“Fado—like jazz, flamenco or tango—cannot stand still, because time doesn’t stop,” Laíns explains. “I want to keep … singing in my language of Portuguese, because I feel blessed to have been born in such an amazing country.”