On Rua da Barroca, in Bairro Alto, there is a fado house with nearly 80 years of history and a direct connection to Carlos do Carmo. Faia was opened in 1947 by the fado singer’s mother, Lucília do Carmo, and his father, Alfredo de Almeida, and it was there that Carlos do Carmo worked for nearly two decades, at the same time he was beginning to sing, according to the Fado Museum.
From “Adega da Lucília” to Faia
When it opened, the venue was named after the fado singer who founded it: it was called “Adega da Lucília.” Lucília do Carmo, born in Portalegre in 1919, sang there every day. Only later did the venue take on the name by which it is known today: Faia.
Artists such as Alfredo Marceneiro, Carlos Ramos, Berta Cardoso, and Tristão da Silva graced its stage, as recalled in the Fado Museum’s “Roteiro do Fado.”
The manager who became a fado singer
Carlos do Carmo was born in Lisbon on December 21, 1939. While still young, he left for Switzerland at his parents’ suggestion and studied languages and hotel management there. Upon his father’s death in 1962, he took over the management of Faia while pursuing a career as a singer, and continued in this role until the end of 1979.
She made her first recording in 1963, and in 1976, she represented Portugal at the Eurovision Song Contest. In 1980, she decided to sell the venue, according to the Faia website. This was followed by a career that earned her a Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014. She died on January 1, 2021.
The Faia has remained open ever since. Since the mid-1990s, it has been run by the Ramos family and continues to feature live fado performances in the evenings, with fado singers such as António Rocha and Lenita Gentil.
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