Sim

There are two great regional fado traditions. The more popular comes from Lisbon and includes pretty much every artist known to a wider audience, from Amália Rodrigues and Carlos do Carmo to Mariza, Ana Moura and Camané; their fado is a street song that spread from more humble ground. In Coimbra the lesser-known fado, whose main references are Edmundo Bettencourt, António Menano, Luiz Goes and José Afonso, belongs to the students, revolves around the secular university and is traditionally sung only by men. Fado in Coimbra was always more protected, keeping itself safe from any tempting modernisation, but it did not benefit from the same global enthusiasm that has made its Lisbon sister such a lively and intense song form over the past two decades.

João Farinha is a young voice hailing from Coimbra and is accompanied by the musicians from the club Fado ao Centro, who dare to add a string quartet to the mandatory Portuguese guitar (two, actually) and classical guitar. If Coimbra is waiting for a saviour, it won't be Farinha, unfortunately. His delicate voice is miles away from Bettencourt or Menano's chilling takes on the song form, and although he does well in his thoughtful performances of ‘Em Todas as Ruas te Encontro’ or ‘Lamento’, he doesn't succeed in blowing a new vitality into the city's own fado.