George Ponciano:Amália Rodrigues in Lis

Amália Rodrigues (1920-1999), the grand dame of Portuguese Fado singing, remains a symbol of Portugal's cultural identity 25 years after her death. The singing flower girl from the Lisbon underclass transformed overnight into a Fado icon during Portugal's misogynistic dictatorship. Until then, few knew the fateful song of the Portuguese. With Amália Rodrigues, that changed dramatically, as she was able to express the hidden power of fate in Fado and move her audience to tears worldwide. In her home, she found the strength to immortalize the melancholy of the Portuguese—and her own. Thanks to her life's work, Portugal's Fado was recognized as an intangible UNESCO heritage in 2011.