ESSA Lisbon: Amália Rodriques

 

Amália Rodriques was a famous Portuguese Fado (FAH-doo) singer, one of the best in the world, and today we went to her house museum. The house itself is about 300 years old and survived the devastating earthquake, tsunami, and subsequent fire of All Saints Day 1755(?). She began her Fado career by putting famous poems to music, which nobody had tried before, and she quickly became the most famous Fado singer in the world, a beloved icon of Portugal, and had, perhaps, the greatest singing voice of all time. Some fun facts about her: interestingly, her exact birthday is unknown. She was only told she was born during "cherry season," a three-month period during the summer. She was passionate about flowers, she was deeply religious, and she was the first woman to be reburied in the Lisbon pantheon, a resting place for the country's most beloved and influential figures.

With Amália, the local Portuguese tradition of Fado music became a worldwide phenomenon. She set trends in everything from Fado music writing to what Fado singers would wear while they performed. Hers became a household name across the globe and that's something the Portuguese can be proud of. This combination of revolutionizing and popularizing this Portuguese tradition made her a unique cultural figure. Being a woman as well meant she had unique obstacles as well. Her parents wouldn't let her pursue her career unless she married, which she did but it was a marriage that didn't last. She showed Fado to the whole world but she also wielded a powerful influence as a female singer and showed the world that a woman can succeed in a career previously unavailable to most women of her time.

Amália's commemoration was impressive, especially compared to some of the other women we've studied. Several tenets of her will concerned how her museum would be set up. Her belongings were to be displayed in her museum and only her museum. Her portrait commemorating the 50-year mark of her Fado career was to be hung in the first room of the tour so she could continue to welcome and entertain guests. Cherries were sprinkled on her dining table as an homage to her ambiguous birth, her famous wardrobes were always on display, and these and other wishes of hers were strictly observed. This showed me a tender side of commemoration. A statue can honor something someone did, but this house museum (in my opinion) honored elements of who she was. This coupled with her copious input regarding how she was remembered is evidence to me that she was commemorated well.