Now, Fado belongs in the serious discussion board because it's serious music.
I will start wth a little mini lesson (not that I know all that much, but...)
Traditionally, Fado is sung by women. It is originally a Lisbon tradition.
In Coimbra, though, men sing it (they sing it in Lisbon, too, but it's not considered traditional).
In Coimbra, the singers started as college students (thus the black student capes. Once a student grauduates, he/she is entitled to wear the student regalia for life -- so older fadoists dress in the student outfit as well.)
Traditionally, songs are about lost/thwarted love, and back in the day, they wandered the medieval streets andsang under the balconies of rheir loves, of course. They are also about Coimbra.
Students learn fado (singing and accompaniment) from very intense teachers in universtiy. The teachers only accept very serious , dedicated students.
These days, students roam around town singing/playing in large and small groups. Not only fado, but other traditional music as well. A lot of the students seem to be medical students. I don't know if that is kind of traditional or what.
It's simply wonderful.