The Portuguese fado singer who charmed Madonna

Standing tall, with sequins around her neck and rings on her fingers, Celeste Rodrigues performs fados ¨C a melancholic style of Portuguese music ¨C to about a dozen tourists who have no idea who she is. Celeste, who will soon turn 95 years old, is the oldest fado singer in the world.

¡°I¡¯ve been singing fado music for 73 years; since 1945. In this caf¨¦, I¡¯ve been singing for 14 years. I was at a cafe in the Alfama neighborhood for 35 years but that one closed down with the Carnation Revolution [a military coup also known as the 25th of April, which took place in 1974].¡± Celeste hasn¡¯t forgotten the name of the caf¨¦ ¨C the journalist has forgotten to write it down. Celeste remembers dates and places with extraordinary precision. ¡°You¡¯re Spanish? Ah! The Pasapoga Music Hall, on Gran V¨ªa in Madrid, how I loved that place. It¡¯s not there anymore, though.¡±

You either feel fado or you don¡¯t Celeste Rodrigues

Celeste sings at midnight at a fado music hall in the Luso Cafe of Bairro Alto, or at La Mesa de Frades in Alfama. ¡°I sing every day, music enriches people¡¯s lives. It¡¯s the only thing I do because it¡¯s the only profession I have. If I didn¡¯t sing, I would be dead by now.¡±

It is no coincidence her surname is Rogrigues. Celeste is the little sister of the great Amalia Rodrigues (1920-1999), the fifth of nine children in a humble family. ¡°With the exception of two tours in Brazil, I never sang with her. I never took advantage of her fame. I also don¡¯t sing her songs. What for? She sang them so beautifully herself.¡±

A month ago, while Celeste performed in Alfama, a blonde woman appeared with a noisy entourage behind her. ¡°They told me that she was Madonna, but I kept singing. It would have been rude to my audience to stop.¡±

In private, the two woman sung Elvis songs and later Madonna invited the fado singer to spend New Year¡¯s Eve at her apartment in New York. The Portuguese singer spoke wonders of Madonna, but she solemnly warns: ¡°Delete everything about Madonna. It¡¯s wrong to take advantage of people¡¯s fame.¡±

Celeste is the little sister of the great Amalia Rodrigues

Celeste follows the new fado singers in the industry, but she laughs as if to say: ¡°You think just because I¡¯m old I¡¯m clueless,¡± when asked who her favorites are. ¡°All of them. Those who are authentic. There are different ways to sing, different tastes but fado is fado and it is always changing. A fado is sung based on how the singer is feeling that day. There is no modern fado or pure fado or vad¨ªo fado [a style typically sung by amateurs with no commercial motive]. You either feel it or you don¡¯t.¡±

While her older sister Amalia became the face of modern fado, Celeste preferred traditional fado, perhaps because she fancied the smaller Alfama music hall to the world¡¯s great stages. "We all have class, to sing fado is to sing about life¡¯s tribulations. It¡¯s not a love story. I no longer have the voice of a young woman but I¡¯ve gained emotion. I¡¯ve gone through many things that you have no idea about when you are young.¡±

For Estrela Carvas, a lifelong friend to Amalia who now takes care of a museum in her honor, there is no doubt that Celeste is the best fado singer. ¡°There are great voices out there today, but they lack heart, they lack experience. They sing to buy their next car. Fado is experience, it is life.¡±

I sing every day, music enriches people¡¯s lives.?If I didn¡¯t sing, I¡¯d be dead by now

Sometimes Celeste swaps fado for folkloric music, ¡°Portuguese, of course. I love buler¨ªas [a 12-beat flamenco rhythm], seguidillas [a Spanish folksong and courtship dance] and peteneras [a flamenco palo], but I wouldn¡¯t dare sing those for an audience. Fado singers are like flamenco artists, pure feeling, and if there is one thing they can¡¯t allow it is a foreign accent. There are Japanese and Dutch people who sing fado, but it¡¯s not the same.¡±

After a lifetime of filling seats in New York¡¯s Carnegie Hall and theaters around the world, it is now time to sing to a group of tourists as they eat calco verde [a Portuguese green soup] and codfish. Celeste adjusts her shawl, fixes her hair, and starts to leave with her guitar players. But right before she reaches the stage, she comes back to the table: ¡°Don¡¯t forget what I said. Delete everything about  Madonna.¡±

English version by Laura Rodr¨ªguez.