Portuguese Mural Triggers an Amazing Race
It all started with a photograph.
The large, framed photographic print depicts a stone stairway in Lisbon, Portugal. At the bottom of the scene, a colorful mural, featuring the words, “Fado Vadio,” splashes the side of a stucco building. The piece hangs in the home of a friend.
The photograph is a conversation piece, because it makes one wonder where in Lisbon the mural is located, what the 360-degree view of the scene looks like in real life, and from where the shot was taken. It is taken from an elevation—through the window of a hotel perhaps?
A Chance to Experience the Fado Vadio Mural First Hand
Recently my husband, Jim, and I had the opportunity to visit Lisbon. Having been curious about the mural photographer’s vantage point, we thought it might be fun to try to find the place.
Prior to our trip, Jim Googled two words that appear on the mural, “Fado Vadio.” He learned that Fado is a type of Portuguese musical entertainment, usually involving one singer and a Portuguese guitar in a bar. Fado Vadio refers to performances that are more related to the expression of emotion than commercialism.
In the Google-Image results, Jim found many photographs of the mural. Apparently, this mural is a popular photographic subject. Associated with the Google results was a restaurant, called A Baiuca, in the historic Alfama section of Lisbon, near the waterfront. It seemed like it would be easy to find the mural, using A Baiuca as a reference point.
The Search Begins for the Fado Vadio Mural
So, one morning during our Portugal visit, we took a taxi from the Corinthia Hotel, where we were staying, to Alfama. We had about three hours to accomplish our mission before we had to be back to the Corinthia, so we could be picked up for a Gray Line tour of Lisbon.
Getting to Alfama should have been easy, but a charity race/walk was taking place in the center of the city that morning, which made the driver take many detours while consulting the map on his phone at frequent intervals. Even so, we enjoyed an unplanned tour of the Lisbon city streets.
Eventually, we arrived in the neighborhood of Alfama, where the taxi driver explained that he could not go any further, because the streets are too narrow. Deposited in Alfama, we wound our way up narrow passages and arrived at the location where Jim’s phone GPS had led us. But, there was no mural.
The grey sky started drizzling that April Sunday morning, and because the old Moorish neighborhood is built on a steep incline, the limestone street tiles proved slick and treacherous. I held onto Jim’s arm and tottered like an old biddy after almost slipping to the ground several times.
The Fado Vadio Mural Eludes Us in Alfama
After we had wandered around a while, and knowing we were under a time constraint, we finally decided to show one of the locals a picture of the mural on Jim’s phone. It seemed odd that the two women we consulted in their doorway didn’t seem to recognize it, since they lived right on top of our target. After conferring with each other in Portuguese, one of them indicated that we should go uphill and to the right, which we did—eventually, sheepishly, passing their door again.
A little further up the street, Jim entered a quaint, little wine shop and asked the friendly-looking woman behind the counter for directions to the actual address of the restaurant he had identified in his Google search. She kindly walked us out of her shop and directly to the address Jim had shown her. We were back in the very first location indicated by Jim’s phone. We felt like we were in the Twilight Zone.
The kindly woman had indeed delivered us to A Baiuca, but there was no mural anywhere to be seen. We thought perhaps the mural had been painted over, but the building looked nothing like the one in the photograph, and the staircase was completely different, too.
So, we Googled “Fado Vadio” again, and after looking for other search results, noticed a different establishment called, Boutique Taberna, with images that contained the mural. Looking up the address of the tavern, we realized we were in the wrong neighborhood.
Finding Mouraria and the Fado Vadio Mural
The right neighborhood was Mouraria, one of the oldest in Lisbon, located just west of Alfama, Searching for Boutique Taberna on Yelp, we used the directions feature to guide us to it. It turned out to be a 15-minute walk, but a very enjoyable one, as we passed interesting architecture, churches, and the castle-like walls of Lisbon Cathedral along the way.
In Mouraria, as the phone indicated we were near our destination, we stopped in front of an old church to our right. We looked to our left, and beyond a metal railing, we spotted the mural below. Our friend’s photograph had been taken from this spot, behind a railing, next to a bench, under a tree. A tranquil setting for reflection, in front of a church. Further along, a set of stairs led down to Boutique Taberna and the mural.
An awning that reads Cafetaria Mouraria, rather than Boutique Taberna, tops a doorway beside which a legless, female mannequin, holding a flower, reposed on a tavern chair. A chalkboard sign in front of her read, in English, “Do not forget to smile.” We might have stopped in and enjoyed a glass of wine and some lunch, if we had not been fixated by our exploration of the mural.
Imagining ourselves victors of a mini-mission on the Amazing Race, we took many pictures and video of the mural, which is located at Escadinhas de São Cristóvão. This translates to the “steps of Saint Christopher,” and at the top of the steps sits the Church of São Cristóvão, one of the few surviving structures from the 1755 Lisbon earthquake.
Transforming a two-dimensional perception of a location far away into an in-person, three-dimensional, 360-degree perspective was a surreal experience. While there, we learned that the entire location is awash with color, because graffiti fills the building walls surrounding the steps. Interestingly, it complements, but does not deface, the mural. To learn more about the Fado Vadio mural, formally known as Mural Escadinhas São Cristóvão, check out this article: A Tour of the Mural Escadinhas São Cristóvão.
Day of Adventure Ends Happily in Lisbon
After we got our fill of capturing our own images of the mural and graffiti, we walked to Lisbon’s city center and hailed a taxi back to the hotel. The fare for the return visit turned out to be half of what it had been on the circuitous route two hours before. We returned just in time to catch our ride for the Lisbon tour.
That evening, we found out that the terminus of the Lisbon tour was none other than Alfama, where our multilingual guide gave us the option of staying in the neighborhood to explore, or return to our hotel. Since we had already traversed many nooks and crannies of Alfama that morning, we decided to call it a day, tired and satisfied as the sun set over Lisbon.
More Portugal Posts
A Tour of the Mural Escadinhas São Cristóvão
Seven Basic Facts About Portugal
7 Things US Visitors to Portugal Should Know
7 Expressions to Know in Portugal
7 Things You Must Know When Visiting Portugal
Ann Silverthorn writes about a wide variety of topics in numerous genres. She recently completed a biography of William E. Dimorier (1871-1951), a forgotten poet and educator, who dedicated his life to service and leadership and is pursuing publication. Several new projects are underway.
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