Portuguese president awards fado stars

Portuguese President Anibal Cavaco Silva commended five fado stars on Tuesday at the Fado Museum here with the "Henry the Navigator" award.

The five Fado stars are singers Ana Moura, Carminho, Katia Guerreiro and Ricardo Ribeiro, as well as composer and guitarist Mario Pacheco. The 35-year-old Moura is known as Fado Princess among fans.

"The richness of their individual pathways, the creativity and dynamism demonstrated, the success they reached in huge concert halls in all four corners of the world, deserve recognition from all the Portuguese," he said.

Silva highlighted Fado's "invaluable contribution" to the dissemination of Portuguese culture, and the country's projection around the world, pointing to the genre's relevance for the economy.

"In addition to its undeniable value as an expression of our culture, fado possesses also an important economic potential of high relevance for our country," he said.

"Its positive impact on companies linked to the audiovisual sector and to show production, and the creation of jobs, has been constant in this successful course."

Silva said that fado's capacity for renewal was reflected in a "sharp increase in the number of CDs edited and sold, shows produced and sold out, and awards conquered."

Fado, meaning "destiny," consists of mournful solo repertoires accompanied by the mellow sounds of a citern guitar, and was added to UNESCO's list of World Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2011. Endit