Although Portugal has other types of folk music, it is the fado which has come to represent the country. As in the case of flamenco in Spain, this is largely because the usually melancholy sound of the fado is so distinctive, inevitably inviting comparisons with the blues. It is also heavily present in Lisbon cafés, so that if this is your first point of contact with the country, you are likely to think it is ubiquitous.

In fact, fado is pretty well limited to Lisbon itself and to the city of Coimbra. The Lisbon strain is supposed to come from the quarters of Alfama and Mouraria and, again like flamenco, has long represented a way to escape from poverty. Coimbra being historically and now a university town, the fado there is more academic and associated with students, although some artistes or groups have broken out onto a broader stage.

Venues. Lisbon has plenty of places where you can see fado performed. Casas de Fado or Adegas Tipicas are likely to be pricey in Lisbon's Bairro Alto, but you will probably want to explore that area at night anyway, apart from the music. Be warned that many fado clubs have a cover charge or minimum consumption and some are insufferably touristy. Famous (and expensive) fado clubs in the Bairro Alto include Adega Machado, A Severa and Painel do Fado. Parreirinha de Alfam is down the road in the traditional fado quarter of Alfama, which makes it an attractive place to visit, but do not expect it to be any cheaper. To find more economical places, your best bet is probably to get a taxi out to the suburbs.

Unsurprisingly, Coimbra has fewer options, but easy to find - ask anyone who looks vaguely like a student.

Origins. The where and when of the origins of the fado constitute one of those endless sources of argument for people who enjoy that kind of thing. For the purpose of this article, it will suffice to say that, like the blues, it was the result of a confluence of cultures, being related with Brazil and Portuguese colonies in Africa and slavery. As for the when, it seems probable that the fado was practically fully formed by the middle of the nineteenth century, giving it a head start over the blues of more than fifty years.

What is it about? Fado is the Portuguese version of the blues, a plaintive, crying song with an exotic, Middle Eastern feel to it which gives it a special appeal, but makes it difficult for the unitiated to understand. As in many forms of flamenco, the fado follows fixed structures, originally derived from dance music, over which old or new lyrics are sung. These tend to deal with love (unsatisfactory, at least from the singer's point of view) and the word saudade (roughly yearning, longing, nostalgia, homesickness... missing in general) crops up a lot. The singer is the central figure and the audience is expected to pay due attention - no chattering.

The fado guitar. Fado guitarists may also be highly esteemed. From the front, the fado or Portuguese guitar looks more like a lute, from which it developed, though it is flat- rather than round-backed. It is normally twelve-stringed and played in combination with a Spanish guitar, confusingly called a viola.

The voices of fado. The high priestess, icon and idol of the fado is still undoubtedly Amália Rodrigues, who was active from 1936 until her death in 1999. She was frowned on as unorthodox for a long time, but she left a mark on the fado similar to that made by B. B. King on the blues, i.e., the shape she gave to it has come to be thought of as the "right" way, especially by people who only half-understand. You will find it easier to get recordings by her than by other performers.

Other important names in the fado world include Maria Teresa de Noronha, Alberto Prado, José Alfonso and Carlos de Carmo. Among guitarists, Carlos Paredes is the most outstanding.

The imprint of fado. Mention should also be made of the heavy influence the fado has had on other Portuguese music. Dulce Pontes, perhaps the best known contemporary Portuguese singer of folk or any other kind of music, interpreted fado themes while still mainly rooted in the pop-rock world and long ago moved almost completely into the fado realm. And the hard-to-classify, but massively successful group Madredeus have a distinctive, ethereal sound which clearly carries a fado wail.

Today and tomorrow. In modern fado, Bevinda and Cristina Branco are names to reckon with, but there are two names vying for the top spot or, to put it another way, for recognition as the most worthy successor to Amália Rodrigues. Misia has a tremendous voice and impeccable credentials as a serious fado artiste. This, together with her languid looks, the black clothes traditionally adopted by fado singers and her half-vampish, half-waiflike image (Marianne Faithful meets Edith Piaf - in an existentialist graveyard) has not only established her as one of the leading contemporary fado singers, but also opened a way to a more general audience. Mozambique-born Mariza, on the other hand, has dropped some of the trappings of fado in favour of a more modern image and incorporated certain elements of jazz and bossa nova into her music. In the twenty-first century, it is clear that the fado still has the capacity to surprise.